Look Behind You
by cleotheo
Summary: When Aurors Harry and Ron investigate the murder of a young woman, they discover a terrifying link to Hermione. Hermione soon finds herself the target of a killer and in need of protection, which brings Draco Malfoy into the picture. Will Hermione survive her ordeal, finding love in the process or will the killer reach their intended target?
1. Chapter 1

Sunday, June 16th 10.30pm.

The blonde woman stood in the dark alley, shivering with the cold. She had been waiting for nearly half an hour and was close to giving up on her date and returning home to the warmth of her small flat. Considering it was the middle of June it was bitter cold and now it was starting to drizzle with rain. Pulling her flimsy jacket around her body she checked her watch one final time before deciding to head home.

As she pulled her umbrella out of her bag, a noise from behind caught her attention. Twirling round to discover what the noise was she came face to face with the man she had been waiting for.

"You scared me. I thought you weren't coming." The woman said, a large smile breaking out on her face.

"Sorry, I got held up." The man shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, let's get out of this rain." The woman said.

"I don't think so," The man said, an evil glint in his eyes. "I've got you exactly where I want you."

Before the woman could respond in any way, the man whipped out his wand and pointed it straight at her.

"Crucio." He cried, causing the woman to fall to the ground writhing in agony.

Once he was satisfied the woman was too weak to cause him any trouble, he lifted the curse. Turning her over onto her back he pinned her to the floor with his larger body and ripped her jacket and blouse off her slender body.

"Silencio." He cast on the defenceless woman, before drawing a knife from his pocket.

The petrified woman saw the knife and began to struggle uselessly against the man who was holding her down.

"Petrificus Totalus." He said, causing the woman to freeze. The only part of her moving was her eyes, which frantically darted from side to side.

Satisfied the woman was now immobile, the man moved off her body and squatted down beside her.

"It's nothing personal, you just work for the wrong person." The man told the woman.

Calmly, the man brought the knife to the woman's stomach and started carving into her firm torso. The woman's eyes filled with pain as she tried unsuccessfully to scream and struggle at the excruciating pain she was feeling.

Five minutes later, the man stopped the carving and stepped back to admire his work. His message was clearly visible on the woman's body, her blood giving it a chilling finish. Glancing at the woman, he saw she had passed out with the pain. Quickly he checked her pulse, she was still breathing but only just.

Pulling his wand back out of his pocket he undid the two spells that were on the woman. Stepping back he pointed his wand at her for one final time.

"Avada Kedavra." He shot the prone woman's body with the killing curse.

Checking he had left no evidence of his identity, the man apparated away with a sharp crack.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 11.00am.

"Auror Department." Harry Potter said, flashing his identification to the Magical Law Enforcement officer that stood at the end of the alley.

Ron Weasley followed suit, flashing his Auror badge to the officer as well. Together the two best friends headed into the alley and towards the crime scene.

"What have we got?" Harry asked, as him and Ron approached the scene.

"Young female, suspected use of the killing curse." The officer standing beside a tarp cover said.

"Let's have a look then." Ron said, moving to the tarp and pulling it back.

Harry and Ron started down at a young woman with light blonde hair that hung below her shoulders. Her shirt was missing and her torso was exposed, there were deep knife wounds and dry blood was covering a large portion of her stomach. Harry pulled out his wand and waved it over the body.

"Definitely the killing curse." He said, when a green light surrounded the body. "Does she look familiar to you?" He asked Ron.

"I don't know, it's hard to tell." Ron replied, looking at the woman's face. He often found people looked extremely different once they were dead.

"When was she found?" Harry asked the officer who was standing nearby.

"The alley backs onto a restaurant just off Diagon Alley, the owner found her when he opened up for the lunchtime shift."

"What time was this?" Ron asked, making notes with a magical quill.

"Half ten, we arrived at quarter to eleven." The officer said, looking pale.

"Write up the details and make sure we have it, so we can follow up with the restaurant owner." Ron told the officer.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, noticing the officer was looking peaky.

"I'm fine, it's just we don't deal with dead bodies very often." The officer replied, not wanting to look unfit for service.

"It's something you get used to, unfortunately." Ron said sympathetically. Dealing with death on a regular basis was something Ron had found difficult to cope with when he first joined the Auror department.

Harry had turned back to victim while Ron was sympathising with the officer from the Magical Law Enforcement team. Walking around the body, he looked for anything that might be vital in their investigation.

"Ron, come here." Harry said solemnly, stopping at the dead woman's feet.

"What is it?" Ron asked, moving to stand beside his friend and partner.

"Look." Harry pointed.

From the angle they were standing the knife wounds made a pattern. Or more accurately they formed two initials.

"No, it doesn't mean… it can't." Ron stuttered, not wanting to believe his eyes.

On the woman's torso, very clearly carved were the initials H.G.

"I think it does. The woman, I know who she is now." Harry said. "She's Hermione's secretary."

Ron looked more closely at the woman, Harry was right. The dead woman was Hermione's secretary. Melanie, Melissa, something like that.

"Harry, this is clearly a message. Hermione's in danger." Ron exclaimed.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens to her." Harry assured his friend, in truth he was just as worried as Ron.

"Oh god, Ryan." Ron said, paling at the thought that had appeared in his mind.

"Ron, it'll be fine. We'll send someone for him when we get back to the office." Harry said, placing a calming hand on Ron's arm.

Ryan was Ron and Hermione's six year old son. While Ron and Hermione's marriage had been over for nearly three years, they were still good friends and Ron was a dedicated father to his eldest child.

As Ron was panicking over the safety of his son and ex-wife, the second part of the team of Auror's arrived to secure the scene. Each team of Auror's consisted of four people, each working in two teams of pairs. Harry and Ron were the first time, they led the investigation and handled the witnesses and clues. The second team, which were Cho Chang and Terry Boot, dealt with processing the scenes of crimes and analysing the evidence. Cho was also a qualified Healer and performed the medical examinations of the bodies.

"Hi, Harry. What have we got?" Cho asked, snapping her protective gloves on.

"Female, killed by the killing curse." Harry said, as Cho bent to get a better look at the body. "It's Hermione's secretary."

"Melinda. She was a sweet girl." Terry said, leaning over to get a better look.

"Are you sure?" Cho asked.

"Ninety nine per cent. I'll wait for you to confirm it of course." Harry said.

"Oh God. Hermione's initials have been carved into her torso." Cho exclaimed.

"I know, we need to get back to the Ministry so we can talk to Hermione." Harry said, running his hands down his face. "Let us know when you're back and we can hold a meeting, I have a feeling this is going to get ugly."

"Fine, are you okay Ron?" Terry said, noticing his colleague looked slightly shell shocked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ron said, nodding at Terry.

"Come on, let's get back." Harry said, taking his friend out of the alley.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 11.45am.

Harry was explaining the situation to Kingsley Shackelbolt, The Minister For Magic, when Ron entered the room.

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Mum went and picked Ryan up from school. He's at The Burrow now." Ron said, sinking into a seat next to Harry.

"Will you be alright on this case Ron. I can reassign it if it's too hard for either of you." Kingsley said, knowing that Harry would be just as affected as Ron by Hermione's involvement.

"I'll be fine. As long as I know Ryan and Hermione are safe, it's okay." Ron said. "Where is she? I thought you were going to get in touch with her?" He asked, turning towards Harry as he was speaking.

"She's in court. She's fine." Harry reassured his friend.

Hermione was a lawyer for the Ministry and specialised in prosecution. Harry had already wondered if someone she had prosecuted had targeted her for revenge.

"When she's finished, I've left a message for her to come here." Kingsley explained. "How much are you planning on telling her?"

"Everything." Harry said, causing Kingsley to raise his eyebrows in shock.

"She'll only be mad if we don't keep her fully informed." Ron said, knowing how feisty his ex could be.

"Besides, we might need Hermione help to solve this case." Harry said. "Knowing Hermione she'll insist on being part of the investigation team, I planned on letting her if it's okay."

"That's fine with me." Kingsley said. "Have you thought about protection for Hermione and Ryan?"

"They can stay with one of us or at The Burrow." Ron suggested, causing Harry to pull a face. "What?"

"No offense mate, but I doubt Hermione wants to stay with her ex-husband and his new wife and baby." Harry said gently, not wanting to upset Ron.

"Fine, what about yours or The Burrow."

"Pretty much the same idea. If she stays at The Burrow, it's staying with her ex in-laws. And if she stays with me she's staying with her ex sister-in-law."

"But Hermione's still part of the family, mum and dad would be happy to have her as would Gin." Ron protested.

"How about we provide security so Hermione can stay at her own house, that would be best I think." Kingsley interrupted. "Besides if Hermione's safe then you two can concentrate on your jobs and solving this murder."

"That's fine, what did you have in mind?" Ron said, knowing Kingsley's solution was the best answer to Hermione's safety concerns.

"The Ministry's Elite Security Unit." Kingsley said.

"Aren't they just for visiting dignitaries?" Ron asked, his nose crinkling in distaste at the idea.

The Elite Security Unit was a specialist team that provided security for any high profile person that was in need of it. Kingsley himself used the team whenever he was in a foreign country on business, as well as occasionally in this country. The team was constructed of wizards who were highly skilled in defensive and protective magic. The team were experts at warding buildings and performing rare and difficult security charms.

"No, they provide security for however is in need." Kingsley said, having a good idea of Ron's reluctance to use the specialist team. "Is it the use of the team you protest to or the head of the team?"

"Neither, I'm just not sure they're the best solution." Ron grumbled.

"I hate to admit it Ron, but Kingsley's right. They are the best in the business and Hermione would be really safe in their protection." Harry said. "Despite the team leader being a git." He couldn't resist the dig at the end which caused a smile to appear on Ron's face.

"That's settled then, I'll call Mr Malfoy and arrange for him to come and be briefed on his new assignment." Kingsley said.

Harry and Ron shared a look as Kingsley left the room to send a message to Malfoy. Despite being a very different man from the bully they went to school with, neither was looking forward to working with the blond.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday, June 17th 12.30pm.

Hermione Granger put her papers into her briefcase, slung her bag over her shoulder and left the chilly courtroom in the basement of the Ministry. Heading to the elevator, Hermione entered the golden cage and pushed the button for the second floor where her office was located.

Entering the small lawyer department Hermione was dismayed to see her secretary still hadn't arrived. Melinda was only nineteen but had proven to be extremely reliable in the few months in which she had worked for Hermione.

"Has there been any message from Melinda?" Hermione asked another of the secretaries, Izzy.

"No, but Minister Shackelbolt sent this message for you nearly an hour ago." Izzy answered, handing Hermione a folded note.

"Thank you." Hermione took the note and headed into her small office.

Hermione put her briefcase on her desk and opened the Minister's note, he wished to see her as soon as possible. Hermione placed her briefcase in her desk drawer and warded it for protection. She then headed back out of her office and headed to Kingsley's office.

When Hermione arrived at Kingsley's office his secretary smiled at her and told her to go straight through. Hermione entered the room expecting to find the Minister alone, instead she was surprised to find both Harry and Ron sitting in the room looking extremely serious. But the biggest surprise was seeing that Draco Malfoy was also present in the room, even though he was sitting as far away from Harry and Ron as it was possible to get.

For the last eight years, since the end of the war, the only time Hermione had seen Malfoy was in the papers and if they saw each other briefly while at the Ministry. His appearance had only changed slightly since the end of the war, but it was enough of a change for him to be considered extremely good looking. His white blond hair was worn in a casual messed up style instead of the slicked back, not a hair out of place style he had favoured in his youth. He had also filled out with muscles in all the right places, he was no longer the skinny teenager he had once been.

"Hermione, sit down." Kingsley said, smiling at the brunette witch.

Hermione sat down warily, looking at all four men in the room. While Kingsley had attempted to smile and appear normal she could see it was forced. Harry and Ron wore similar expressions, worried and serious with no hint of the usual friendly greeting she was used to getting from them. Malfoy looked like he usually did, unreadable and totally unconcerned with events surrounding him.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, when no one spoke.

Kingsley nodded to Harry to begin the explanation.

"This morning Ron and I were called to the scene of a murder." Harry began. "I'm sorry, Hermione but we're pretty sure it's your secretary."

"Melinda." Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. "She didn't show up at work today."

"That's not all." Harry said, deciding to be direct with his friend. "Your initials were carved into her body."

"Oh my god. You think this was aimed at me?"

"Yes, she was your secretary with your initials branded on her." Ron said, taking hold of Hermione's hand.

"Ryan." Hermione exclaimed, her eyes flying to Ron as she realised her son could be in danger.

"He's at The Burrow with mum, I had her go and pick him up. Just in case." Ron soothed.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered.

"Hermione if you want to be involved in the case you can be." Harry said, drawing his friends attention. "But we understand if you don't."

"No, I want to be involved. If Melinda was killed because of me, I want to help find her killer." Hermione said forcefully, her brown eyes flashing with anger.

"There's a full meeting this afternoon to review everything we know." Harry said, before looking at Kingsley to take over.

Hermione noticed the look that passed between Harry and Kingsley and wondered what Kingsley was about to say that Harry didn't want to be part of.

"We also need to discuss your security." Kingsley said. "You'll need a guard, since we think you're the intended target."

Hermione's eyes immediately fell on Malfoy who had been silent since she entered the room. His presence now made sense, he was head of the Elite Security Unit that provided V.I.P's with protection. It seemed her former schoolmate was assigned the task of protecting her. Hermione was sceptical of the idea, while they had both grown up and were more mature she was still unsure if they could survive any time alone without fighting.

"Surely I'm safe between work and home." Hermione protested.

"This is non-negotiable, Hermione." Kingsley said solemnly. "You're getting a guard."

"Fine." Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll leave you and Draco to sort the details." Kingsley said to Hermione before turning to Harry. "What times the meeting?"

"We've got some follow up work to do and Cho and Terry are still busy. So I think about two, in the conference room. I'll let you'll know if there's any change." Harry said, standing from his seat.

"Don't worry, 'Mione. We'll catch however did this, I promise." Ron said, pecking his ex-wife on the cheek.

"I know." Hermione smiled weakly at Ron.

Harry also kissed Hermione on the cheek and reassured her before leaving Kingsley's office.

"I trust you two won't kill each other before the meeting?" Kingsley eyed the two people still sitting in his office.

"Of course not, we're both adults I think we'll cope." Hermione said, standing up.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Draco said, speaking for the first time since Hermione had entered the room.

"Good, I'll see you both at two then." Kingsley said as they left his office together.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 1.15pm.

Hermione sat in her office, looking at the blond man sitting opposite her. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the new and improved Draco Malfoy. Like many people he had been profoundly affected by the war, he had been sucked into the dark side and had no say over his life for nearly two years. After the war and his trial, in which he was cleared of any wrong doing by virtue of the fact his life was being threatened, he had given the Ministry vital information on the dark side and their many followers. The information he provided resulted in the capture and imprisonment of dozens of Death Eaters. Since then he had worked for the Ministry and kept himself out of trouble and away from any sort of dark activity. The only things Hermione knew about his life were the things she read in the papers, and she knew from her own experience that the press didn't always report the truth.

"If you're finished staring, maybe we should get started." Draco said, noticing the intensity in which Hermione was studying him.

"Sorry." Hermione said, blushing slightly at being caught staring.

"First of all, you're getting a twenty four hour guard." Draco said, diving straight into business.

"Is that really necessary?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes, if a killer's after you it's essential you're never left alone." Draco said. "There's no point arguing."

"Fine, I'll have a twenty four hour guard." Hermione huffed. "Who will it be? And how intrusive will it be?"

"I was thinking of guarding you myself, but if it's too uncomfortable I'll assign someone else." Draco said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Why would it be uncomfortable?" Hermione asked.

"Because of our history." Draco sighed. "We didn't exactly like each other in school."

"That's in the past. Besides you apologised after the war, eight years ago." Hermione said, she had forgiven Draco the day he had apologised to her, Harry and Ron the day of his trial. "We're both adults and I'm sure we can put the past behind us."

"Good. I prefer to handle big cases personally." Draco said, relieved Hermione wasn't going to fight his decision. "And I am the best, even if I do say so myself."

Hermione smiled slightly at Draco's ego, some things hadn't changed about the former Slytherin.

"What about Ryan? He needs protection, too." Hermione said, suddenly serious regarding the safety of her only child.

"Don't worry, he'll have a constant guard when he's not with us." Draco reassured Hermione. "How often is that?"

"He goes to muggle school each day. Molly picks him up and takes him to The Burrow until I finish work. He usually spends time with Ron on a weekend." Hermione said. "I think that's it, other than that he's with me."

"That should make things easy. I'll make sure he has two guards when he goes to school and when he's at his grandparents." Draco said, working out the logistics in his head.

"How are you going to explain two guards to a muggle school?" Hermione asked.

"Tell the truth." Draco smirked, causing Hermione to look alarmed by the suggestion. "Relax Granger. I mean about the threat's to you. We explain that you're being threatened because of your job and you want to provide security for your son."

"What if the school won't agree?" Hermione asked.

"I'll convince them, don't worry." Draco said, flashing Hermione a devious grin.

"You never answered my question about how intrusive having a twenty four hour guard would be." Hermione said, trying to ignore the butterflies that appeared in her stomach when Draco grinned at her.

"I'll try my best not to mess with your life too much, but I suppose if we're both working on this case that'll make it easier." Draco explained.

"What do you mean, both working on this case?" Hermione asked.

"Well I'm going to be present at all the meetings, I might as well help." Draco shrugged.

"Okay." Hermione smiled cautiously. "What about away from work? How will that protection work?"

"Easy, you go home and I go with you." Draco grinned again, causing the butterflies in Hermione's stomach to make another reappearance.

"So you'll be staying in my house, all night." Hermione tried to control the blush that threatened to appear at the thought.

"Unless it's a problem. It's much safer if I'm in the building with you. I'll have two of my team outside as well." Draco said, smirking at Hermione's embarrassment.

"That's okay, I've got a spare room." Hermione said. "What about your life though?"

"There's not a great deal to it these days." Draco shrugged, looking slightly sad. "I've nothing going on that won't keep until you're safe again.

Hermione nodded but didn't like to push, Draco suddenly seemed melancholy and lost in his thoughts. Hermione knew from the newspapers he had been divorced for just over two years.

"Will you need to go and get some things then?" Hermione asked, bringing Draco out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I also need to brief my team and sort out assignments." Draco said, looking at his watch. "But it's nearly time for the meeting. Hopefully after that I can leave you with Potter and Weasley while I sort some things."

"I don't need babysitting." Hermione huffed.

"I know, but it won't look good if something happens to you the same afternoon I was assigned to protect you." Draco said, hoping to appease the feisty witch.

"Okay, do you think we have time for me to quickly talk to Molly. I need to make sure Ryan's okay." Hermione asked, looking at the time. It was fifteen minutes until their meeting.

"No it should be fine, do you want to visit the house or use floo powder." Draco asked, hoping she would choose the latter he was in no hurry to visit the Weasley house.

"I think Floo would be easier." Hermione said.

"I'll wait outside, I'll come and get you when it's time to leave for the meeting." Draco said standing and heading for the door.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled, thinking that maybe she could cope with Draco protecting her after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday, June 17th 2.00pm.

Draco looked around the conference room in the Auror department. He had never attended any meetings such as these but he had expected a larger investigate team then what was assembled. Apart from himself, Hermione, Kingsley, Harry and Ron there was only two other Aurors present. Draco knew the Aurors worked in teams of four so he knew the other two people in the room were the other half of Harry and Ron's team. He recognised Cho Chang from school and he had briefly worked with Terry Boot a few years ago.

"Let's begin." Harry said, standing at the head of the table. "Malfoy, do you need any introductions?"

"No, I know everybody." Draco replied, surprising Harry. He had expected to have to introduce both Cho and Terry to the blond.

"Right then, let's press on. As usual this is a strictly confidential matter and the case is not to be discussed with anyone outside of this room." Harry said in an business like tone. "Everyone has a file in front of them, all documents will be copied for everyone so we can all keep up to date with any significant breakthroughs, wherever we are."

Harry explained about the files for Draco and Hermione's benefit, he knew neither had ever been involved in an Auror investigation before.

"Cho, do you want to begin."

Cho quickly passed her written reports and crime scene photos around the team before she began to speak.

"I've confirmed the victim's identity as Melinda Tait, aged nineteen." Cho said, shooting a sympathetic look at Hermione. "She died from the killing curse. The engraving on her body was inflicted before her death."

"God, she must have been in so much pain. Why didn't anyone hear anything?" Terry said.

"My best guess is that she was silenced and immobilised. The engraving wouldn't have been as clear and neat if she was struggling." Cho said.

"How do you know it wasn't done after death?" Ron asked.

"The amount of blood loss tells me she was still alive when it happened." Cho replied, sadly.

"What about time of death?" Harry asked.

"Her heart stopped beating at ten forty eight last night." Cho said, checking her notes.

"How can you pinpoint the time so accurately?" Draco asked, intrigued by Cho's skill.

"There's a rather complex spell you can perform on a body to discover the time of death." Cho explained with a small smile.

"So Melinda was killed just before eleven, what was she doing there in that alley?" Harry asked.

"The logical thing is that she was meeting someone. The only place near to the alley is the restaurant and that closed at seven." Ron said, he had questioned the restaurant owner that had discovered the body a short time before the meeting.

"We need to find out who, if she was meeting someone. We can ask the family when we go and tell them this afternoon. Hermione what do you know about Melinda's private life?" Harry said, turning to his friend.

"Not a lot, she didn't talk about her life away from work." Hermione said, disappointed she couldn't be more help. "She was studying law at a muggle university, that's pretty much all she talked about. Sorry."

"That's okay Hermione. At least it's somewhere to begin." Harry smiled at Hermione. "After we've talked to her parents, we need to start finding out her movements over the weekend. I want a detailed timeline of her life since she left work on Friday to being found in that alley this morning."

"What about the connection to Hermione?" Terry asked.

"First of all we need to work out why they're targeting Hermione." Harry mused.

"It could be someone I prosecuted, I've had some high profile cases over the last few years." Hermione suggested.

"That's somewhere to start. Hermione can you sort through your files and make a list of every trial you've being involved in within the last five years." Harry asked Hermione who nodded her agreement.

"Why five years?" Draco asked.

"That's how long I've been handling cases. The first year in the job I was training and assisting another lawyer." Hermione explained.

"What if this stems from something longer than five years. Or what if Hermione's being targeted for another reason." Terry said.

"I think for the time being we'll concentrate on Hermione's cases for the last five years but we'll definitely start considering other reasons if we have no success." Harry told Terry.

After making sure everyone knew what they would be doing over the course of the afternoon, Harry turned to address Draco for the first time. "Do you need anything, security wise?"

"I need to meet with my team and brief them all and delegate assignments." Draco said. "I also need access to any house that Hermione or her son are likely to visit over the course of the investigation."

"Why?" Ron questioned.

"Because I need to put in extra security precautions." Draco told the frowning redhead.

"We all have sufficient wards up." Ron insisted.

"Ron, please don't be difficult. Let Draco do his job." Hermione said, trying to keep the annoyance she felt out of her voice.

"That's fine, you'll need access to Ron's house, my house and The Burrow." Harry said, jumping in before Ron could say any more. "Me and you can go this afternoon, if that's alright."

"That's fine, why you're with the victim's family, I can brief my team." Draco nodded, wondering why Hermione's parents' house wasn't on the list needing protection.

"What about Hermione? I thought you were supposed to be protecting her?" Ron said, glaring at the blond before he had time to ask the question that was floating around in his head.

"I am, but this needs to be done. I was hoping you would stay with her in her office. Surely you can cope with that." Draco sneered, his dislike of the redhead rearing its head.

"Of course." Ron said, staring at Draco.

"Have you thought about what to tell Ryan?" Harry asked Hermione, trying to break up the tension that had appeared in the room.

"Not really, but I think some form of the truth would be easier." Hermione sighed. She had been wondering the same thing after her brief conversation with her son just before the meeting.

"Why don't I bring him back with us from The Burrow and you and Ron can talk to him together." Harry suggested.

"Thanks Harry, that's a great idea." Hermione smiled at her friend.

Ron merely nodded, not happy with having his son coming into contact with the former Slytherin.

"Right I think that's all for now. We'll hold another meeting tomorrow morning at ten." Harry said, dismissing the meeting.

Kingsley went back to his own office while Cho and Terry headed off to do more leg work on the case.

"I'm off to see Melinda's parent's. Malfoy, I'll meet you in the atrium in an hour." Harry said.

"Harry will you tell Melinda's parents how sorry I am and how much she meant to me, she was a lovely girl." Hermione said, grabbing onto Harry's arm to stop him from leaving the room.

"Of course, I'll see you soon." Harry said, giving Hermione a quick hug before leaving the conference room.

"Shouldn't you be leaving as well?" Ron said to Draco, shooting the blond evil looks.

"Yes, I'm just going." Draco snapped at Ron before turning to Hermione. "Go back to your office with Weasley and stay there until I come back."

"Yes, boss." Hermione answered with a small smile.

Draco shook his head slightly and gave Hermione a small smile in return before he left the room to attend to his team.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 3.40pm.

Draco paced the atrium in the Ministry, he had briefed his small but efficient team and they had all rushed off to start their assignments. He had also rushed home and grabbed a few things he might need while he was staying with Hermione.

"Sorry I'm late. I couldn't just rush away." Harry said, rushing over to the blond.

"It's fine. It couldn't have been a pleasant experience." Draco said, pleased he hadn't had to perform the job that Harry had just done.

"No, it's not." Harry sighed, informing the relatives was the toughest part of Harry's job and he still struggled with it.

"Where are we beginning?" Draco asked, trying to change the conversation and lighten the mood slightly.

"I thought my place. Ginny's at work so they'll be nobody in." Harry said, heading towards the floo network. "It's Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."

Harry stepped into the flames calling out his address as he went, Draco following closely behind.

Draco stepped out of the flames and into a bright and cheerful sitting room. He found Harry standing in the middle of the room watching him.

"Where do you want to begin?" Harry asked, wondering what sort of spells Draco was about to perform.

"The door that is most frequently used is the best place." Draco replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable in Harry's house.

Harry led Draco to the front door where he began to erect several new wards and protective spells. Harry watched the blond man work, he was extremely conscientious and took great care to make sure everything was perfect before finishing his spells.

"Do you need to be anywhere else?" Harry asked.

"No, that should be secure enough." Draco said.

"We'll go to Ron's next." Harry told Draco as he led him back into the front room.

Like before, Harry gave Draco Ron's address and flooed there ahead of him. When Draco arrived at the Weasley house, he found Harry talking to a small, plain looking woman.

"Wanda, this is Draco Malfoy. Malfoy, this is Ron's wife, Wanda." Harry said, making the introductions.

"Nice to meet you." Draco said, taking a good look at the woman Ron had left Hermione for.

Wanda smiled politely and excused herself, heading into the kitchen to stop her cake from burning. Draco watched her leave the room, amazed that Ron had left a beautiful vibrant woman like Hermione for the plain woman he was now married to. Draco was honest enough with himself to admit that Hermione was very beautiful these days. He was also honest enough to admit that he was very attracted to the witch he was guarding.

"Where's the door?" Draco asked Harry, deciding there was no way he could work out what Ron had been thinking regarding his wives.

Harry led him to the door, where Draco put up the same wards and enchantments he had at the Potter's house. Harry said a quick goodbye to Ron's wife, reassuring her that she was safe and that Ron would explain things in greater detail when he returned home from work. Heading to the fireplace they prepared to floo to the place Draco was dreading visiting the most, The Burrow.

Draco was dreading going to The Burrow because of all the history between his family and theirs. He knew his father and Arthur Weasley didn't get along plus he hadn't exactly been the nicest person himself back in school, he had insulted the family on more occasions than he liked to remember. Then there was the terrible war in which he found himself on opposing sides to the large close-knit family.

"It'll be fine. Molly isn't the sort of person to hold a grudge." Harry said, noticing how nervous the blond appeared to be.

"I wouldn't blame her if she did." Draco sighed, wondering why Harry himself was being so forgiving towards him.

"There's no reason to. You're obviously a changed man." Harry said answering Draco's question without realising it. "Shall we go."

Draco nodded and summoning up all his courage followed Harry into the floo network and towards The Burrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Monday, June 17th 4.00pm.

Harry and Draco arrived at The Burrow to find Molly sitting in the living room, the radio playing quietly and her knitting sitting doing itself on a chair nearby.

"Harry, do I get an explanation." Molly exclaimed, hugging her son-in-law and staring pointedly at the former Slytherin who had entered the house right behind him.

"Yes Molly. Draco's here to put some extra protection around The Burrow." Harry said, explaining Draco's presence first.

"Why? We're securely protected." Molly said, looking offended.

"I'm sure you are Mrs Weasley. It's just an extra precaution." Draco told the plump woman.

"Extra precaution for what? What's going on Harry?" Molly demanded placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll explain in a minute, I'll just show Draco where to begin." Harry said, leading the blond man out of the front room and into the kitchen. "The back door is more frequently used at The Burrow." He told Draco when they arrived in the kitchen.

"Okay, you better go and explain the situation to your scary mother-in-law." Draco said, smirking at Harry.

"She's not that bad." Harry laughed just as Molly's voice disturbed their brief conversation.

"Harry Potter, get in here and explain yourself."

"I'd best go." Harry said sheepishly, heading back the way they had come.

Draco smirked slightly at Harry and set about erecting the new wards. When he was finished he could still hear Harry and Mrs Weasley discussing the events of the day. Not wanting to disturb them he sat down on the doorstep and admired the lovely view the house had.

Draco had only been sitting there a few minutes when a small boy appeared at his side. He had short light brown hair and large brown eyes, he was undoubtedly Hermione's son.

"Hello. I'm Ryan." The small boy said, plonking himself down next to Draco.

"I'm Draco." Draco told the boy.

"That's a weird name." Ryan said, before clapping his hands over his mouth. "Sorry, that was rude. Mum says you shouldn't be rude."

"That's okay, My name is pretty weird." Draco smiled at the boy's straight forward approach.

"Why do you have a weird name?" Ryan asked carefully, he didn't think the stranger would mind him asking but he was still cautious.

"Because my mother named me after a constellation. That's what you call a special group of stars." Draco said, wondering if Ryan knew about constellations. He was betting on the fact he would because his mother was Hermione Granger.

"I know. Sometimes me and mum lie in the back yard and she traces the patterns with her wand." Ryan said proudly. "I'm getting good at naming them."

Draco smiled at the idea, that was exactly how Narcissa had taught him about the stars and constellations when he was younger.

"I'm sure you'll be an expert by the time you get to Hogwarts." Draco told Ryan. He could already see he had inherited his mother's brains.

"Yes, I'll be just like mum and be really clever." Ryan said, clearly proud of his mother.

"I'm sure you will." Draco said, wondering if the young boy had inherited anything of Ron. He seemed like a mini Hermione as far as Draco could see.

"Did you go to Hogwarts with my mum and dad?" Ryan suddenly asked Draco.

"Yes." Draco replied warily, not willing to tell the boy about the animosity that had existed between them back then.

"Why haven't I seen you before then?" Ryan asked, suddenly suspicious about the man beside him. He had met lots of his parents friends from school but never the blond man that was currently in his grandparent's house.

"We weren't really friends in school. I was in another house." Draco said, hoping that would be enough information to satisfy the young boy.

"What house?" Ryan asked, clearly not giving up his line of questioning.

"Slytherin."

"Cool!" Ryan exclaimed, his eyes widening with excitement. "I've never met a Slytherin before. Do you have a snake?"

"Why would I have a snake?" Draco asked. The memories of Nagini had turned him against the slithering creatures.

"Slytherins like green and have snakes." Ryan said, matter of factly.

Draco chuckled as he realised the young boy was talking about the emblem that represented Slytherin house. "I don't think it works like that. All Gryffindor's don't have lions."

"That would be cool." Ryan said wistfully before suddenly turning to Draco looking excited. "Do you think mum would buy me a lion?"

"I wouldn't have thought so." Draco replied laughing slightly. He hoped Hermione wouldn't yell at him for accidentally putting the idea of a pet lion into her son's head. "Lions are too big to be kept as pets, they belong in the wild."

"Or a zoo. We saw some lions in a zoo." Ryan said, launching into a lecture on what animals he had seen in the zoo.

Draco was thoroughly enjoying himself listening to Ryan when Harry appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey, chatterbox." Harry said, coming up behind Ryan and ruffling his hair.

"Uncle Harry." Ryan shouted, launching himself at the former Gryffindor.

"Go and get your things so you can come with me. We're going to see your mum and dad at work." Harry told his nephew, putting him down on the kitchen floor.

As soon as Harry had let go of the boy he flew out of the room to get his belongings, eager to see his parents.

"You and Ryan looked to be having fun." Harry said to Draco.

Harry had been surprised to find Draco and Ryan sitting talking when he had entered the kitchen. Harry had never considered the fact that Draco might be good with children. He had always considered the former Slytherin cold and uncaring, but he seemed to be talking and laughing nicely with Ryan.

"He's a good kid." Draco shrugged, getting up off the step.

Harry and Draco made their way back into the front room where Molly was standing waiting for them.

"Mr Malfoy, I want to thank you for looking after Hermione and Ryan. Please don't let anything happen to them." Molly said, staring at the blond.

"I won't. I promise they'll be safe." Draco promised.

Molly smiled at Draco, confident the man standing in front of her was no longer the bigoted boy he had been and he would protect her family to the best of his ability.

"Are we going Uncle Harry?" Ryan asked, rushing into the room. His coat and bag were trailing along the floor behind him as he dragged them along in his rush to see his parents.

"Not before you smarten yourself up, young man." Molly scolded, reaching down to tidy her grandson up.

As Molly made sure his jacket was on and put his backpack on his back properly, Ryan stood rolling his eyes and making faces at his grandmother's fussing. For the first time since he had met the boy, Draco could clearly see Ron in him with the fidgeting and face pulling.

After Harry and Ryan had said goodbye to Molly, Draco led the way back to the Ministry with Harry following with Ryan a few seconds later.

"Come on, let's get you to your parents." Harry said, taking hold of Ryan's hand and heading for the elevators.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 4.20pm.

"I just don't think it's the best thing to tell him." Ron said, running his hand through his hair. "He's only six, what if he gets scared."

Hermione and Ron had been arguing over the best way to explain to Ryan the changes that he would be facing until the case was solved. Hermione wanted to be as truthful as possible but Ron was opposed to the idea.

"What do you suggest then?" Hermione said, not looking up from her organising.

"I don't know." Ron admitted.

Hermione finally stopped her work and looked over her desk at her ex-husband. "I know it's not ideal but I really can't think of any other way to explain Draco's presence to him."

Ron huffed but didn't say anything, he was already unhappy about the security arrangements. When Hermione had informed him of the fact that Draco would be the one providing the twenty four hour protection, that included staying at her house overnight, he had ranted for nearly ten minutes.

"You know it's the only option, Ron." Hermione tried to pacify her ex before Ryan arrived. "He's far too smart to fall for some lame story we can concoct."

"Fine." Ron conceded.

Hermione mentioning how smart Ryan was had won Ron over. Ron himself had never being too clever but he was immensely proud of his son who had inherited every bit of his intelligent mother's brains.

Before the conversation went any further, the door to Hermione's office opened and a small brunette boy rushed into the room.

"Mum, can I have a lion?" Ryan shouted, hugging Hermione and climbing onto her knee.

"What?" Hermione asked, bemused by the question.

Ryan then launched into a garbled speech about Snakes, Slytherins, Lions and Gryffindors. Ron kept shooting Draco evil looks as Ryan mentioned his name several times in the story. Ron wasn't following what his son was saying he only knew that somehow he had talked to Draco. Hermione however was following most of Ryan's speech and thought she understood what her son wanted.

"Lions belong in the wild, Ry." Hermione said softly, when her son had finished talking.

"That's what Draco said." Ryan said, looking disappointed.

Harry laughed softly at his nephew's disappointment. "I'll be going, Hermione will you have those files sorted before tomorrow's meeting?"

"Yes, I'm transferring them to a memory stick and I'll work on them tonight." Hermione told Harry, gesturing towards her muggle computer.

Despite working in the wizarding world, Hermione incorporated her muggle lifestyle into it effortlessly. Harry said his goodbyes and headed back to his own office to do some more work.

"I'll leave you to it, I've got some things to pick up from my office." Draco said, not wanting to interrupt as Hermione and Ron explained things to Ryan. "Granger, I'll be back at five. Can you make sure you stay until then?" He asked Ron as politely as he could manage.

"Yes, it'll be fine." Ron replied politely, after a hard stare from Hermione.

Draco nodded and left the room, leaving Hermione and Ron alone with their son.

"Ry, let's sit down. We need to have a grown up talk with you." Hermione said, taking her son to the sofa and chairs that were in the corner of her office.

While Hermione and Ryan settled onto the light blue sofa, Ron perched on a chair next to them. They had decided it would be better if Hermione explained as she was better with words than Ron.

"Can you remember what we told you about mine and dad's jobs?" Hermione asked her son.

"Yes, dad catches bad guys and you make sure they get told off." Ryan said, pleased he could remember.

"Very good." Hermione smiled at her bright son. "Well one of those bad guys is being nasty to me. So Draco is going to be around to make sure me and you are safe. Like a bodyguard. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I like Draco." Ryan said, thinking hard before speaking again. "Will he be at home with us?"

"Yes, for a while he'll stay with us." Hermione said, pleased Ryan was understanding her. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, will he play with me?" Ryan asked, he loved to play and loved to have people to play with.

Ron growled softly at Ryan's question. Hermione shot him a dirty look before answering her son.

"I'm sure if we ask him nicely he will." Hermione said, hoping Draco was child friendly.

"Did you know that Draco is named after a star group?" Ryan asked, he couldn't quite say constellation and he hated to mispronounce anything so he used words he could pronounce.

"Yes. How did you know?" Hermione wondered.

"He told me." Ryan stated.

Hermione smiled, clearly Draco and Ryan had talked and bonded somewhat. Hermione was relieved, she had been worried how Draco would cope being around her son who could sometimes be very blunt and to the point.

"Ryan, why don't you draw a picture while your mum and me do some work." Ron suggested, hoping to change the topic of conversation.

As Ron helped Ryan get his crayons and colouring books out of his backpack, Hermione headed back to her desk. She was aware of the reason behind Ron's change of subject, he didn't like the fact that Ryan kept talking about Draco. Hermione had a feeling she would have to have a serious talk to Ron before the end of the case, if it dragged on. She knew Ryan and when he liked someone he talked non-stop about them for weeks on end and Hermione had a feeling that Draco Malfoy was his new favourite person.

* * *

**A/N- Thank you for the lovely reviews I've been getting for this story and my other ones. I would like to reassure people that all my stories will be finished and I won't abandon them. Updates should continue to be regular as I've already wrote a large chunk of this story and pretty much know how it will end. Enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A****/N- I'd just like to answer a question from a reviewer asking about Draco's marriage and if he has any children. Both Draco and Hermione's marriage's and the reasons for their failures will be addressed in a later chapter (Chapter nine), so you'll find out then about Draco's situation regarding children.**

* * *

Monday, June 17th 5.10pm.

Hermione stood holding tightly onto Ryan's hand in the Atrium of the Ministry. Her eyes darted about the Atrium as she wondered if the killer was nearby.

Draco had arrived at her office at exactly five o'clock to escort her home. As they headed down to the Atrium he explained that the two members of his team that would be watching Ryan during the day were meeting them there so that Ryan could meet them. Hermione was pleased that Draco had been so thoughtful as to arrange the meeting.

When they arrived at the Atrium Hermione had been pleasantly surprised to find that one of the men was Lee Jordan, the Weasley twins best friend. While Hermione hadn't seen Lee since just after the war she knew he was still good friends with Fred and George. Hermione also vaguely recognised the other man, Draco's former Slytherin housemate, Blaise Zabini.

Ryan had immediately liked both men and Hermione was relieved her son was going to be protected by people she knew. After a brief chat with Hermione and Ryan, Draco had taken Blaise and Lee a bit further away from the pair so he could give them some final instructions.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked, coming back to where Hermione was standing. He was carrying a black holdall that had the few belongings he might need over the next few days.

"Yes, let's go." She replied, walking towards one of the fires with Ryan.

Their arrival at Hermione's house had been thoroughly discussed. It was decided that Hermione and Ryan would go first and Draco would follow immediately behind them.

Hermione stepped into the green flames with her son, calling out her address as she went. The moment she disappeared Draco stepped in and flooed to Hermione's house.

Arriving at Hermione's house, Draco took a quick look around. While the house was not massive it was still large and had a very welcoming fell about it.

"I'll set the wards immediately." Draco said, putting down the bag he was holding and getting out his wand.

While Draco was securing the house even more than it already was, Hermione helped Ryan take off his coat and shoes. When his shoes and coat were off Ryan asked permission to watch cartoons on the TV. Hermione said he could and the young boy flew to the TV and turned it on before settling himself down on a blue beanbag that was positioned near to the TV.

"Done. I have to say the house already has some pretty impressive wards." Draco said, re-entering the front room.

"Thank you." Hermione said, all the security wards around the property were set up by herself. "I'll show you to your room."

Leaving Ryan watching TV, Hermione led Draco up the stairs of her house.

"That's Ryan's room. That's the bathroom and the door opposite is the spare room. My room is the one at the end of the corridor." Hermione told Draco, pointing out each door in turn. "I've got an en-suite bathroom so you'll only have to share with Ryan."

"That's fine. Thank you." Draco said, looking around the spare room.

"I'm going to change, then I'll start on dinner." Hermione said, leaving Draco alone.

Draco looked around the room. It was decorated in pale green, there was also a double bed with cream covers on it. There was a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, both made from the same pale wood. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a lamp standing on it. Beside the window was a dressing table with a chair sitting beside it.

Draco headed to the window to look at the view. The window showed that the house had a decent size back garden with a large green lawn. In a large tree at the bottom of the garden Draco could see a tree house and a swing hanging from the branches.

Turning away from the window, Draco placed his holdall on the bed and began to unpack his clothes. Once everything was hanging in the wardrobe he got out his wand and cast an anti-wrinkle charm on the clothes to make sure each item of his clothing was in pristine condition. Satisfied his clothes were neat, he removed his work robes and tie leaving him in his black dress trousers and light grey shirt.

Draco spent another couple of minutes acquainting himself with the neat room before he headed down stairs, wondering if Hermione was finished changing. Once downstairs he quickly checked that Ryan was okay in the front room before he headed towards the kitchen where he could hear pots and pans being rattled.

Draco stood in the doorway to the kitchen watching as Hermione bustled about the kitchen preparing dinner. Draco was pleasantly surprised by the change in Hermione's clothing. At the Ministry she had been wearing a dark blue pencil skirt with an off white blouse as well as black work robes. Her hair had been tied in a tight bun, leaving Draco wondering if she had managed to gain any control of her wild hair.

The Hermione that was standing in the kitchen bared little resemblance to the prim and proper worker Hermione. She was looking much more laid back, wearing dark blue jeans and a purple t-shirt. Her hair was clearly a lot tamer these days as it feel in waves midway down her back, it was held together at the nape of her neck with a silver clip.

While Draco had been attracted to Hermione from the minute she had walked into Kingsley's office, he found her even more attractive when she was dressed casually.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." Hermione smiled at Draco as she turned around and saw him in the doorway.

"I've just arrived." Draco said, not wanting to admit he had been watching the brunette witch for several minutes.

"Is Shepard's Pie okay for dinner?" Hermione asked, unsure of how Draco would feel about eating mainly muggle food for the duration of his stay.

"Yes, do you need any help?" Draco offered looking around the kitchen warily.

Hermione chuckled at the perplexed expression on Draco's face as he looked around the room. She thought that even if she asked for help he would have no idea how to provide it.

"No, thank you. You can feel free to make yourself at home." Hermione said.

Draco nodded and headed out of the kitchen to explore the house, leaving Hermione to continue cooking. While Hermione continued to make dinner she could hear Ryan and Draco talking in the front room. As she put the dinner into the oven she reminded herself to thank Draco later for being nice to Ryan.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 7.45pm.

Hermione looked at her son as he begged to continue reading for longer.

"You can read until eight, the light will go off then and I expect you to go to sleep." Hermione finally relented, she could remember pestering her own parents in the same way.

"Thanks mum." Ryan beamed.

"I'll be coming to check, Ry." Hermione warned as she left her son's room and headed back downstairs.

Once downstairs Hermione grabbed her laptop and set it up on the dining room table. Putting in her memory stick she brought up the files she had downloaded at work.

"Do you want any help?" Draco asked, entering the room and sitting opposite Hermione.

"Yes, that'll be great. Ron suggested I start with all the Death Eater cases I worked on, you might be able to provide information." Hermione said, before she realised how insensitive she sounded by bringing up Draco's past. A past he had worked hard to make up for. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." She said, worried that Draco would be mad.

"I know you didn't." Draco said, seemingly unaffected by her words. "Hopefully me and my past can prove useful."

Hermione was grateful that she hadn't seemed to have offended the blond man sitting opposite her. "Okay, most of the Death Eater trials were conducted in the two year's following the war. I only handled four by myself and I assisted in two more."

"Okay, do you have somewhere I can make notes?" Draco asked, pleased he could be of some help.

Hermione stood up and pulled a pad of paper and a pen from a drawer before handing them to Draco.

"Thanks." Draco said. "Why don't we work in chronological order. Give me a list of every Death Eater you prosecuted."

"Right. The first one I assisted with was Yaxley, but I didn't do much. It was the same with the second one, Crabbe." Hermione explained, looking at her notes. "My first solo Death Eater case was Alecto Carrow. My next two were Macnair and Rabastan Lestrange. The last one I did was nearly two years ago, Parkinson."

"I'm assuming none of these have been released." Draco said, looking at the list.

"Not that I know of, they all got life imprisonment. Only a handful of Death Eaters got sentences where they stand a possibility of release."

"I know." Draco said shortly. His father had been one of the few Death Eaters not to receive a life sentence. Lucius had received a fairly lean punishment of ten years in Azkaban.

"Sorry." Hermione grimaced. Once again she had put her foot in it and only realised what she had said when it was too late to take it back.

"It's going to be a long night if you keep apologising, Granger. I'm not that sensitive. I know my past is going to come up and I can deal with it." Draco said, looking Hermione in the eye. "Let's get on."

"Okay, why don't you tell me if anyone on the list has someone who could be avenging them." Hermione said, trying to remain professional.

"As far as I know, Yaxley had no family. Crabbe's wife left him years before the war and Vince is dead. The most obvious person in Alecto's life is Amycus but he was caught straight away." Draco started working his way down the list, trying to remember what he knew about these people.

"Didn't the Carrow's have any more family?" Hermione asked.

"Not as far as I know, Potter can look into it I suppose." Draco shrugged turning his attention back to his notes. "I don't think Macnair had any family, but again I'm not entirely sure. Obviously Rabastan had his brother."

"Had? Past tense." Hermione said as she made notes of her own on her laptop.

"Yes, Rodolphus died four years ago." Draco said, not over keen on talking about his aunt's husband.

"So that leaves Parkinson." Hermione said, wondering if Draco had known the man personally he had after all being friends with his daughter.

"Yes, Pansy and Mrs Parkinson moved to France after Benjamin's trial. But I have no idea if they're still there, I only know that's where they went because mother told me."

"So you don't keep in touch with Pansy?" Hermione asked curious. She could remember a time in school when Pansy was continually draping herself around Draco.

"No, after I was acquitted at my trial and gave the Ministry information on the Death Eaters that were on the run we fell out." Draco said. He could still vividly remember the argument in which Pansy had called him a spineless traitor and had slapped him. "We haven't spoken since."

Hermione began to say sorry but a pointed look from Draco had her shutting her mouth again.

"I think that's all we can do on the Death Eaters tonight. Harry and Ron should be able to go into further detail. Maybe we should start looking at other cases. We might not be looking for someone with Death Eater connections at all." Hermione said, scanning through her long list of other cases.

"Maybe, but I still think the use of the killing curse indicates someone with dark origins." Draco said, before asking how he could help.

* * *

Monday, June 17th 11.00pm.

After starting the long process of reviewing old cases Hermione was exceptionally tired. Her and Draco had worked until quarter to eleven before deciding they should get some sleep. Arriving back in her room Hermione found she was too keyed up to sleep immediately so she ran herself a luxurious bath with vanilla bubbles.

Soaking in her large bathtub, Hermione ran through the day in her head. She was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that a killer had deliberately targeted her. Throughout the day she had avoided thinking about how much danger she was in, instead she chose to concentrate on Ryan's safety and getting justice for Melinda.

Unfortunately alone in her room with no distractions she wasn't able to get the fact that someone hated her enough to kill her secretary out of her mind. The fact that she needed major protection was a sign that Kingsley, Harry and Ron were seriously concerned about her safety.

Getting out of the bath and applying her nightly body lotion, Hermione realised her hands were shaking quite badly. Hermione quickly finished with her lotion and got ready for bed. Snuggling up in the large bed Hermione tried to tell herself the shaking was because she was cold not because she was terrified for her life.

Eventually Hermione drifted off into a restless night's sleep. Thoughts of killers and old memories of the war invaded her dreams, causing her to wake up in a cold sweat numerous times throughout the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Monday, June 17th 11.30pm.

The man sat in his leather chair, thinking over the events of the day. Some things had gone better than he had hoped for while there were small areas where his plan needed to be re thought.

He got extremely lucky when Potter and Weasley were part of the Auror team called to the murder site. They had immediately made the connection to Granger and by lunchtime the brunette was starting to realise how much danger she could potentially be in. Soon she would realise it was only about to get worse. She had already suffered the death of a colleague next would be the death of an ex. He had been unable to gain access to Granger's most prominent ex, her former husband Ronald Weasley. Instead he had settled for someone she had briefly dated after her divorce, Oliver Wood the Keeper for Puddlemere United. Their brief liaison had kept the gossip mill in the papers in overdrive for weeks.

What he hadn't planned for was the participation of Malfoy in the team. He had assumed that either Potter or Weasley would assume guard duties for their friend. Getting Granger away from Malfoy was going to prove trickier than getting her away from either Potter or Weasley, but he would think of something. Nothing was going to stop him getting revenge on the woman that had destroyed his life.

Putting thoughts of how she was going to separate Granger from her expertly trained bodyguard, then man stood up. That was a problem for later, he wasn't ready for a confrontation with Granger just yet. First he wanted the former Gryffindor terrified and broken, he had plenty more surprises in store for the uptight witch.

Entering for the kitchen he pulled a sandwich and a bottle of pumpkin juice out of the fridge and headed for a door in the corner. Walking into the dark basement he flicked his wand illuminating the room in bright light.

Keeping his guard up he headed to the corner where his prisoner was huddled into the corner, giving him evil looks. The man stopped a few feet away and threw the sandwich and pumpkin juice onto the floor.

"There you go. A condemned man's last meal." He said, cackling evilly.

"Why are you doing this? If it's a kidnap my club will pay?"

It was true his prisoner was a top Quidditch player and he was sure his club, Puddlemere United, would pay handsomely for their keeper back.

"I'm not interested in money, Wood." He laughed.

"Why?" Oliver Wood begged, he still had no idea what the mad man wanted with him.

The last thing Oliver could clearly remember was drinking in the pub with his team mates. He remembered being the last one to leave as he had stayed to talk to the bar's owner's, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. One minute he had been leaving the pub and the next he had woken in the dark cellar, his hands tied in front of his body and his right leg shackled to the wall.

"It's nothing personal." The man shrugged, making his way back towards the stairs.

Once he was at the bottom, Oliver darted forward as much as he could and grabbed the sandwich and juice.

"Maybe next time you should be more careful who you jump into bed with." The man called back over his shoulder. "Oh, I forgot. You won't be around to worry about next time."

The last thing Oliver heard was the man laughing as he left the basement, plunging the room into darkness as he shut the door.

* * *

Tuesday, June 18th 9.55am.

Hermione stood in the Auror conference room reassuring Ron that Ryan was safe. Ron had relaxed substantially when Hermione had informed him that one of the men protecting him was Lee. As Hermione was talking to her ex-husband she thought about the different side of Draco she had witnessed that morning.

As promised he had taken her and Ryan to Ryan's school where he had explained that Hermione had been receiving threats against her life and she wanted to provide extra protection for her son. Hermione had been surprised how relaxed and comfortable he had been in the muggle building conversing with a muggle. But what surprised her most was the way he had charmed Ryan's head teacher, Miss Keaton, into agreeing with Lee and Blaise being present at the school. Hermione had never considered that Draco would be able to flirt and charm the woman into getting his own way.

Just before ten, Harry entered the room with Kingsley and started the meeting.

"Hermione, have you sorted your files?" He asked his friend.

"Yes, they're in two piles." Hermione said, pulling some papers out of her briefcase. "This pile is all the Death Eater cases I worked on. I've included all the notes that Draco gave me on each person. This is all my other cases, I've made a couple of notes on potential suspects but I think it's a long shot to find the killer from this group."

"Thank you. Both of you." Harry said, making sure that Draco was included in his thanks. "Right, what do we know about Melinda and her last movements."

"Melinda was a half-blood witch who was studying law at a muggle university. She had also applied for a wizarding law course." Terry said, reading from his notes. "She lived with her friend, Tiffani Hazelwood in a flat about ten minutes away from her parents."

"Did you talk to her flatmate? Ask about boyfriends and any plans she may have had for the weekend?" Harry asked.

"I spoke to the flatmate, Tiffani last night." Ron said. "She was away for the weekend with her boyfriend, I'm checking her alibi although I believe her. According to Tiffani, Melinda had a paper due this week and was planning on spending the entire weekend working on it."

"Anything else?" Harry asked, he had been hoping for more information.

"I spoke to the secretaries in the lawyer's department." Terry said. "They all said the same thing. Melinda only ever spoke about work she never talked about men or dating."

"That fits with the Melinda I knew." Hermione said sadly, remembering how much she had like the girl. "She was extremely focused and dedicated. She would have been great in whatever career path she had chosen."

"This isn't really a lot of help. We still have no idea why she was in that alley." Harry shook his head. "Cho do you have anything more?"

"Yes, I found evidence she was hit with the Cruciatius curse moments before her death."

"This backs up the Death Eater connection." Ron said.

"Terry, Cho I want you two to continue looking into Melinda's life. Hopefully someone will know why she was in that alley." Harry said, starting to wind the meeting up. "Ron, me and you will divide these Death Eater cases and find out everything we can about their lives and who might be after revenge."

"What about me and Draco?" Hermione asked, wanting to do something helpful.

"You can start looking into the other cases that don't involve Death Eaters." Harry said. "And I'm sure you both still have work of your own to do."

"Fine, but make sure we're kept informed." Hermione told Harry.

"I will." Harry said, recognising Hermione wasn't in the mood to be messed with.

"If there's no significant breakthroughs we meet same time same place tomorrow." Harry said, bringing the meeting to a close.

* * *

Tuesday, June 18th 2.00pm.

"This is Ridiculous, I'm not getting anywhere." Hermione moaned, resting her head on her desk. She was already tired due to lack of sleep and searching through old cases non stop wasn't helping any.

"I take it you can't find anyone who hates you enough to do this in those case files." Draco said, looking up from his own work.

"No, but I'm convinced whoever is doing this is connected to the Death Eaters in some way." Hermione sighed.

Needing a break from her relentless trawling through past cases, Hermione stood up and wandered over to the corner where Draco was currently doing his own work.

"I'm inclined to agree with you." Draco said, as Hermione sat down on the sofa next to him. "This is about way more than some petty conviction."

"I wonder if Harry and Ron have found anything." Hermione sighed, leaning back against the settee and stretching her body.

Draco was unable to say anything as he was transfixed by Hermione stretching. The way she pulled her arms back he could see a bare patch of pale skin at the top of her skirt and her light blue blouse pulled tightly around her breasts highlighting how curvy Hermione was under her conservative clothing.

Draco was interrupted from his viewing pleasure when a knock came on the door followed by Harry's face popping into the office.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course." Hermione smiled at her friend, straightening her clothes as he entered. "Do you have any news?"

"We have something but it still needs further investigation." Harry said. "Thank you for all the details, Malfoy. It's been a huge help."

"Pleased to have been of assistance." Draco told his old adversary.

"Harry, what's the news." Hermione said. She was sitting impatiently on the edge of her seat waiting for Harry to pass on the information he clearly had.

"Nothing's certain but we think we have our first suspect. Pansy Parkinson." Harry said, watching Draco for a reaction.

He knew that Draco had had a brief relationship with Pansy in school and was unsure of how the blond would react to the idea. Draco looked shocked at the idea but didn't protest as Harry though he might do.

"Explain Harry." Hermione said.

She was also watching Draco carefully, he had revealed the previous night that they had fallen out but it must still have come as a shock to him to have her described as a suspect.

"We knew from Malfoy's notes that Pansy and Mrs Parkinson moved to France. Ron ran a check on their last known whereabouts and discovered Mrs Parkinson passed away five months ago."

"Pansy's mother's dead?" Draco asked shocked. He had never heard a whisper of her death from either his mother of his friends. He wondered if no one had told him after his fight with Pansy or if no one knew.

"Yes, she died of a heart attack." Harry said. "Pansy was with her at the hospital when she died, but she hasn't been heard of since."

"How is that possible? What about funeral arrangements?" Hermione asked, trying to assess the situation logically.

"The hospital records show that Pansy arranged to have her mother's body buried in France at a nearby cemetery the day after her death. Ron's looking into who attended the service." Harry explained. "The day after her mother's death, Pansy appears to have packed up her belongings and left the house she shared with her mother. We can find no evidence of her re-entering this country and can find no evidence of her ever leaving France."

"Just because you can't find a record doesn't mean it didn't happen." Draco said. "She could have had help."

"We know, we're still searching. But the fact she's gone off the radar is suspicious. I'm afraid that has to make her a suspect."

"Why wait this long though?" Hermione pondered. She got up from her seat and started pacing the floor in her office as she thought out loud. "It was nearly two years ago when her father went to prison. And five months since her mother's death. Even if she blamed me for both of those things, why now? Why wait?"

"I don't know, maybe she needed time to form a plan and get some money together?" Harry suggested. He hadn't gotten as far as trying to figure out motive.

"Okay, I get she needs time for the idea to form. But the Parkinson's are rich, why would she need to get money together." Hermione was still pacing the floor as she continued to think.

"Because the Parkinson's were rich, they're not anymore." Draco said. "It takes a lot of money to stay on the run for nearly six years, which is what Parkinson did. Any money that was left was spent on expensive lawyers to fight the charges the Ministry brought against him."

"You knew the Parkinson's had no money." Harry stared at the blond, he was surprised he hadn't included that information on the notes he had provided.

"I didn't say they had no money. I said they weren't rich anymore." Draco said. "They had enough money for Mrs Parkinson and Pansy to set up a new life in France."

"Actually they didn't. Mrs Parkinson and Pansy ran leaving heavy debts behind." Harry told Draco, pleased to notice the former Slytherin seemed genuinely shocked by the information. "They were living in a tiny house in the poorest part of wizarding Paris."

"Mrs Parkinson gave everyone the impression she had bought a villa for her and Pansy." Draco said shocked at Harry's information.

"Keeping up appearances." Hermione said. "She didn't want people looking down on her."

"Probably she always was a snob." Draco shrugged causing both Hermione and Harry to look at him and burst out laughing.

"What." He demanded, not understanding the laughter but having a feeling he was the cause of it.

"It's just so funny to hear you call someone a snob. When we were in school you were the snobbiest person I'd ever met." Harry said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"You've clearly never met Mrs Parkinson." Draco huffed, not wanting to admit what Harry had said was true. "It's not that funny." He pouted as Hermione continued to laugh.

"I know, but it's good to laugh." Hermione said between laughter. After a couple of seconds she calmed down and sat back down next to Draco.

"I should be going. I just wanted to let you know we now have a suspect." Harry said, standing up and walking towards Hermione's door.

"Thanks for keeping us informed." Hermione told her departing friend. "Sorry for laughing at you." She told Draco when she turned back around.

"It's okay. I suppose I was slightly stuck up when I was younger." Draco admitted.

"Just a little bit." Hermione teased.

"You know you weren't above being snobby yourself in school." Draco said staring pointedly at Hermione.

He could clearly remember the pompous little girl that he had met on the Hogwarts Express as they were traveling to school for the first time. Hermione had come bursting into the carriage he had been sitting in, looking for a toad. He could also remember the lecture on manners she had given Goyle when he had spoken with his mouth full. It was only once they arrived at school that Draco had discovered her heritage, until then he had hoped the feisty girl would be in Slytherin so they could be friends.

"I suppose." Hermione said reluctantly, she was also remembering how condescending she had been when she was younger.

"Now it's settled that we were both snobs when we were younger, let's get back to work." Draco said, looking at all the work that was sitting in front of him.

"You're right. I've still got plenty of regular work to do." Hermione sighed, getting up and heading back to her desk.


	7. Chapter 7

Tuesday, June 18th 6.50pm.

The man waited for the security guard to pass before continuing on his way. Carefully he walked along making sure that Oliver Wood's body was floating along beside him. If anyone did spot them they would think that two people were walking, not one person and one dead body. Not that he was worried about anyone spotting him, he had planned his disposal of his newest victim perfectly.

Eventually he reached the corner of the dark pitch. Double checking no one was around he levitated the body out onto the middle of the pitch. Luckily for him Puddlemere United liked to make a big show of their matches and always kept the pitch in complete blackness until play was about to begin. While the stands in the stadium were currently brightly lit with hundreds of people milling about, no one witnessed what had just happened on the pitch.

Satisfied Oliver would make a big impression on the night's game the man hurried away from the pitch and clambered into the stands to take his seat. Even though he knew there would be no Quidditch match taking place, the show that would be taking place instead was much more enticing.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to get some food." The man's companion and alibi for the night arrived, sitting down next to him as he munched his way through a giant hotdog. "Have you been here long?"

"About half an hour." The man shrugged.

As his companion ate and drank, the man waited for the announcement of the teams. Eventually they began, sitting forward slightly he waited for the fun to begin.

"That's weird, Wood's not playing." His companion said when the Puddlemere team was announced.

The man just shrugged, hiding his smirk with his jacket collar. Finally the players got into position and the lights went up. Almost immediately shouting was heard as people spotted the body lying in the middle of the pitch. The man watched as Puddlemere staff ran onto the pitch, trying to determine what was happening.

"It's Wood!" Someone screamed as one of the people in the centre of the pitch turned the body over, revealing his identity to the entire stadium.

The man smiled happily as pandemonium reined in the stadium. The discovery of a body was not what people had expected to see when they had come to see Puddlemere United versus The Holyhead Harpies.

* * *

Tuesday, June 18th 7.15pm.

"I can't believe this." Ron said for the third time since him and Harry at arrived at the Quidditch Stadium.

"Neither can I. Things are going to get much more complicated now." Harry sighed. He was trying to stay focused on his job rather than contemplate the death of a man he had known since school.

"I know." Ron said, looking around the vast stadium. Getting statements off everyone present was going to be a nightmare. "I'm not sure how we'll handle this."

"Members of the Magical Law Enforcement team are taking names and addresses for people. Hopefully we can talk to them all over the next few days." Harry sighed.

The stadium had been locked down at the discovery of Oliver's body, so no one could leave. The M.L.E. team were currently evacuating it so the investigation could begin properly.

"Can you handle things here, I need to go and see if Ginny's alright." Harry said to Ron.

"Ginny was here?" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was her team that Puddlemere were playing."

"Damn." Ron said, thinking about the horror his sister had witnessed. "You go to her, I'll meet you back at the office."

"Thanks." Harry said, walking off to find the changing rooms.

As Harry left, Cho and Terry arrived on the scene.

"Is it really Oliver Wood?" Terry said as they approached Ron.

"I'm afraid so." Ron said, standing back to let Cho examine the body. "I've got to go and talk to a few people. Me and Harry will meet you in the lab for preliminary cause of death."

"I can tell you now, it was the killing curse." Cho said, looking up at Ron and Terry.

"What about any engravings?" Terry asked, wondering if they were dealing with the same killer.

"Not that I can see so far. I can examine him better when we get him back to the lab." Cho said.

"Right, see you later." Ron said, heading off to speak to the team manager and head grounds man.

* * *

Tuesday, June 18th 7.45pm.

Harry, Ron and Kingsley walked into the medical labs in the Auror department where they were due to meet Cho and Terry. They found Cho and Terry standing next to a table which held Oliver's body.

"What can you tell us?" Harry asked, getting straight down to business.

"I'm just about to start my full examination." Cho said. "But as I said before he was killed with the killing curse. And I've found the engravings."

Cho gestured to Terry and together they carefully moved Oliver so the three men could see his back. Carved into the top of Oliver's back were the initials, H.G.

"We're dealing with the same killer." Harry said. He had been hoping that Oliver's death was an unrelated case, but the fact he had once had a brief relationship with Hermione had convinced Harry it was the same case.

"We'll leave you to start." Kingsley said, ushering Harry and Ron out of the room. "Are the pair of you still alright with this case." He asked once they were in the hallway.

"Yes, we're fine." Harry said and Ron nodded in agreement. Even though both men had known Oliver personally they were still determined to solve the case and to find out who hated Hermione so much they would do this.

"Okay." Kingsley said, trusting his two top Auror's judgement. "Oliver was high profile so his death will change things. Tomorrow I'll be bringing in someone from the media liaison department. It's imperative we control how much the press finds out."

"I also think we need to bring in someone to try and find Pansy Parkinson. I've been searching all afternoon and have had no luck." Ron said.

"I agree, with Oliver's death we have too much to do without looking for Parkinson." Harry said, agreeing with Ron's request.

"Okay. I'll also bring in someone from missing persons, they have better facilities for tracking people." Kingsley said, mentally making notes on what he needed to do before the following morning's meetings. "I have to go and make some sort of statement to the press."

"What are you going to say?" Harry asked anxiously, he didn't want the media reporting Oliver's death before he had informed his family.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to give any details. I'll just ask they refrain from printing until the family has been informed and tell them there will be a press conference tomorrow." Kingsley said, knowing exactly what Harry was concerned about.

"We'll go and tell The Wood's the bad news. Then we better go and see Hermione." Harry sighed. He wasn't looking forward to either visit.

* * *

Tuesday, June 18th 8.30pm.

Hermione and Draco were sitting at the dining table doing their respective work when the floo network sounded in the front room. Apart from making and eating dinner Hermione had been working nonstop since she left work a little after five. She was alternating between looking over old cases to help with the murder investigation and reviewing the new cases that she was currently working on. Draco however had only been working for just over an hour.

When they had arrived at Hermione's house Ryan had wanted to play with his Quidditch figures. Not having the heart to disappoint the small boy he was growing fond of Draco agreed, and the pair had played for hours only stopping briefly for something to eat. Once Ryan had gone to bed, Draco had gotten his work out and sat with Hermione in a companionable silence until the floo network interrupted them.

Hermione and Draco headed into the front room to see who had arrived unexpectedly. They were both surprised to find Harry and Ron standing there with serious expressions.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Sit down, and we'll explain." Harry said kindly.

Hermione shakily sat on the sofa while Harry and Ron perched on the chairs opposite. After a few minutes of hovering uncertainly Draco sat down next to Hermione as Harry began to explain the night's events.

"Are you sure it's the same killer." Hermione whispered after Harry had told her about Oliver.

"Yes." Ron replied simply. He didn't need to go into details she would hear it all at the meeting tomorrow.

"I don't understand. What have I done for someone to hate me so much." Hermione said, putting her head in her hands.

"It's not your fault, Hermione." Harry came and squatted down in front of Hermione, lifting her chin so she could see him. "Whoever is doing this is sick and twisted. This entire thing is entirely their doing."

Hermione nodded, seemingly agreeing with Harry. Logically she knew her friend was right but she also knew something she had done had triggered this response.

"Will you be okay?" Ron said, unsure of what to say to Hermione.

"I'll be fine. You two go home." Hermione insisted. Standing up she hugged both men and ushered them into the floo network and home to their respective wives.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Draco asked when Harry and Ron had left. Hermione was looking very pale and unsteady on her feet.

"Not really." Hermione admitted, sitting back down next to Draco.

Draco stood up and went into the kitchen, he returned a few seconds later with a glass of firewhisky.

"Drink this." He said, handing the tumbler to Hermione.

"Are you not having one?" Hermione asked, taking a large gulp of the bitter liquid.

"I'm not the one whose just had a shock." Draco said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Which part, Oliver or his murder?"

"Whichever." Draco shrugged. He wasn't the best person in the world at dealing with the emotional side of life but he felt bad for the witch sitting beside him. Normally Hermione was so brave and could deal with anything but she was slowly becoming more broken by the events of the week.

"I'm not sure what to say?" Hermione said. "I haven't seen him in over a year. We only dated briefly."

"What happened?" Draco asked. He was genuinely curious as to how she had come to date Oliver Wood.

"We re-met at a charity ball about a year after my divorce. Oliver asked me out and I agreed, we dated for nearly three months before we split." Hermione said.

Draco was curious to know about Hermione's marriage to Ron but knew that it wasn't the time to ask. Instead he concentrated on asking about her brief relationship with Oliver.

"Why did you split?"

"Oliver couldn't handle my whole life." Hermione said, explaining further when she saw Draco's confused expression. "He loved dating the war heroine who he could show off and take to fancy restaurants. He wasn't as keen on dating the single mother who cancelled dates because of an ill child."

"He couldn't handle Ryan being your number one priority." Draco said, understanding the problem.

"Exactly." Hermione was slightly shocked that Draco had immediately understood what she was saying. "Luckily I realised that before I had introduced them."

"So Oliver never met Ryan?" Draco was surprised she had dated the man for three months and he had never met her son.

"No, I needed to be sure it would last before I let him meet Ryan." Hermione explained.

"Have any of your boyfriends since your divorce met Ryan?" Draco asked. He was curious to know if Hermione had been involved in a serious relationship since Ron.

"No, but I haven't exactly had a lot." Hermione shrugged. "There's only been one apart from Oliver."

"You've only dated two men in the last three years?" Draco asked shocked, momentarily forgetting that he had dated no-one since his own divorce. "How is that possible?"

"You know how long I've been divorced." Hermione smiled, secretly pleased that Draco had taken an interest in her life.

"I read the papers." Draco shrugged, annoyed he had revealed how much he knew about Hermione. "It was big news when Weasley left you for another woman."

"It wasn't quite like that." Hermione said. Obviously Draco had paid close attention to the reports surrounding her divorce. "Just as I'm sure the reason for your divorce wasn't as heartless as the papers said."

"What was it like then?" Draco asked, sensing his opportunity to find out more about Hermione's marriage. He ignored the bit about the rumours surrounding his own marriage.

"Not as scandalous as the papers liked to report." Hermione shrugged. She was slightly disappointed he hadn't mentioned his own divorce.

Draco looked at Hermione, studying her closely. Clearly she wasn't going to give him any information about her past without hearing some of his own story. Surprisingly Draco found he wasn't opposed to telling her about his marriage and the reason it failed.

"Maybe you can tell me about it sometime." Draco finally said. "And just for the record you're right."

"About what?" Hermione asked.

"My divorce. The reasons for it weren't as heartless as the papers liked to claim."

"I never thought they were." Hermione said, standing up. "I think I'm off to bed. Night."

Hermione gave Draco a small smile before she headed out of the room and up the stairs. Draco sat in the front room for nearly half an hour thinking about his talk with Hermione. For the first time since Astoria, he felt like he had found someone he could talk to honestly and openly. Someone he could potentially fall in love with.


	8. Chapter 8

Wednesday, June 19th 11.00am.

The atmosphere in the conference room was sombre and tense. Harry had pushed the meeting back an hour as he said he had something important to attend to.

"Sorry, I'm late." Harry announced as he entered the room. He was followed by a large man with short dark brown hair. "Everyone take a seat. Is Kingsley not here?"

The whole room sat at the table including the mystery man with Harry.

"He's on his way." Terry said, taking his seat next to Cho.

Just as Terry finished talking, Kingsley entered the room. With him were two more men who immediately took seats around the table.

"As you can see we have a few new faces to add to the team." Harry said, starting the meeting. "First we have Theo Nott, he's the media liaison officer."

Theo nodded to the people in the room. He also exchanged quick smiles with Draco as they were former Slytherin's.

"Nott, is here to arrange the press conferences. Write the press releases and to make sure they don't discover more about the investigation than we want them to know." Harry said. "He won't be in present the meetings but he will be around the fringes of the investigation."

"Speaking of which, I'm actually leaving now to prepare for this afternoon's press conference." Theo said, standing up. "It was nice meeting you all. Draco we'll have to catch up sometime."

"Sure, we can arrange something later." Draco said, nodding at his former school friend.

With a few more goodbyes and a final brief from Kingsley, Theo departed the room leaving Harry free to continue his meeting.

"The second new member for the team is Michael Corner from missing persons." Harry indicated the former Ravenclaw who had briefly dated Harry's wife, Ginny. "Michael is taking over the task of locating Pansy Parkinson."

Like Theo before him, Michael nodded and greeted the group of people he would be working with.

"The last person to introduce is my cousin Dudley Dursley." Harry said. "Dudley's a muggle. He works for the muggle police in America as a profiler. He's here to give us a profile of our killer, it can be extremely useful in the investigation."

Hermione and Ron both exchanged a shocked look as Harry introduced the cousin he had grown up with. They both knew that Harry and Dudley didn't get along while growing up, and while they had stayed in contact sporadically since adulthood neither of Harry's friends realised they were friendly enough for Harry to involve him in such a major case.

"Cho, do you want to begin." Harry said, starting as usual with the medical evidence.

"Actually, I have something you might want to know first." Michael said, passing a thin blue file to Harry.

Harry read the paper, his eyes widening in shock. "It seems Oliver was reported missing on Monday morning."

"He didn't show up for practise on Saturday apparently but when he failed to do so again on Monday his team manager reported him missing." Michael said, explaining the report for the rest of the group.

"When was Oliver last seen?" Terry asked.

"Friday night. He'd been out drinking with some team mates in a pub called The Brave Lion." Michael said, checking his notes.

"Dean and Seamus' place." Ron said, he had visited his friends pub on many occasions. "I take it someone has already questioned them."

"Yes, it's all in the report." Harry said, closing the file. "At least we've got somewhere to start. Cho do you want to go now."

"Yes. Actually this development clears up a few things that were puzzling me." The witch said.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I'll get to it." Cho said, not fazed by Ron's interruption. "Oliver was killed at six pm last night, he died from the killing curse."

"Six, are you sure?" Harry asked. Cho tutted annoyed and nodded, she never made mistakes with time of death. "That means he wasn't killed on the Quidditch pitch, it was last inspected at twenty past six and the lights went out at half past."

"He was probably killed where he was been held captive and then his body moved." Cho said.

"How do you know he was being held captive? He might just have been missing since Friday night." Ron said, not quite believing there was an innocent explanation for Oliver's disappearance.

"Because of the fact his hands had been bound together and there is shackle marks on his right ankle. I was puzzled by their presence before but it makes sense if he had been held somewhere for four nights." Cho explained.

"Great." Harry sighed. "We're not just dealing with a killer but a kidnapper as well."

"What if he has more people." Hermione said, the thought making her feel sick.

"I don't know, Hermione. We have to face the possibility he might have." Harry said, reaching across the table and giving Hermione's hand a squeeze.

"I have a question." Draco said, causing the entire group to look at him expectantly. While Draco hadn't made lots of contributions to past meetings when he had done so he had always had a valid point. "Why kill Wood now?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, confused by the blond's question.

"If he's had him since Friday, why wait? Why kill Hermione's secretary first?" Draco asked.

"Dudley, do you have anything?" Harry asked his cousin. He was unable to answer Draco's questions.

"I can think of a couple of reasons. The first is maybe he always planned for Oliver to be his first victim but he suddenly found himself with an unexpected opportunity to kill the first girl." Dudley said.

"But that's not what you think happened." Draco said, he could sense the large man wasn't convinced by his first explanation.

"No I don't." Dudley conceded, he was impressed that the blond could read him so well. "After listening today combined with what Harry has told me, I think the killer has planned things impeccably. He has a set plan that he probably spent months working on. I don't think the first murder was opportunistic, I think it was perfectly planned."

"So why kidnap Oliver and wait to kill him?" Ron asked. He was unsure if Harry's cousin knew what he was talking about.

"Oliver is a high profile person, getting access to him would be hard. The killer probably did some research into his life and decided that Friday night was the perfect time to get him alone."

"Dudley's right." Terry said. "Oliver was expected to play last night, killing him before a match would be practically impossible."

"What about the public way in which the body was found?" Hermione asked. "Is that significant."

"Yes." Dudley nodded. "It was the ideal way to make sure the press is involved. He wants the attention, he wants everyone to know what he's doing."

"He wants everyone to know he's punishing me for something." Hermione whispered. She understood exactly what Dudley was saying.

"Yes." Dudley said.

"But it won't work. Surely we're controlling what the press knows about the case." Ron said, angry at the idea of some psycho killer persecuting Hermione in the press.

"Yes, but now they're aware of the killings they could easily work out the link to Hermione." Draco said. "Especially if there's anymore."

"My guess is that's exactly what the killer wants." Dudley said.

"What else can you tell us about the killer?" Harry asked his cousin. He was pleased he had asked Dudley for help, he was proving very useful so far.

"Not a lot at the moment, I'll start work on a detailed profile after the meeting." Dudley said. "The killer clearly hates Hermione. They blame her for something tragic in their lives, probably the death of someone they loved. They're calculated and careful in their execution of their crimes. They will be difficult to catch, as they leave no physical evidence at the crime scenes."

"They'll get cocky and mess up. They always do." Ron said, confident the killer couldn't outsmart the Auror team he was part of.

"Don't be so sure." Dudley warned. "It will probably be something out of the killer's control that leads to his downfall."

"Okay, I think that's it for now. Dudley you start the detailed profile. Michael you can handle the Parkinson case. Cho and Terry I want you to continue with following up on Melinda, I still want to know how she ended up in the alley." Harry said. "Ron and I will follow up on Oliver."

"What about me and Draco?" Hermione asked, annoyed to be left out.

Harry looked at his friend, she didn't look very well at all. He was desperate to tell her to go home but he knew she wouldn't give in without first making some sort of contribution.

"How about you go and visit Dean and Seamus, find out about last Friday and Oliver." Harry said. "Me and Ron can deal with things at the stadium."

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione smiled softly.

* * *

Wednesday, June 19th 12.30pm.

The man stood quietly watching proceedings. The Atrium at the Ministry of Magic was jam packed with reporters all waiting for the scheduled press conference. A few minutes earlier Granger and her blond bodyguard had slipped out of the Ministry, unnoticed by the assembling press.

The man watched as the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shackelbolt, stepped up to the pre prepared podium. Potter and Weasley stood slightly behind him, looking pensive.

The man listened carefully as Kingsley announced the tragic murder of Oliver Wood. He announced that Potter and Weasley were amongst the investigate team. During his speech he never mentioned the first victim or Granger's association to them.

As Kingsley wrapped the press conference up and the press departed the atrium, the man smiled. While no mention of Granger was made, the press now knew of his existence, soon they would realise his reasons as well.

They also knew who was leading the investigation. Potter and Weasley's every move would now be watched by some of the press, soon they would unwittingly lead the press to another victim. And eventually they would lead the press to Granger.

The man had already decided that if the victim's link to Granger wasn't made public in the next few days, he would have to make it known himself.

* * *

Wednesday, June 19th 12.45pm.

Hermione and Draco sat in a corner booth at The Brave Lion waiting for Dean and Seamus to join them. While Hermione was picking at the ham and cheese sandwich in front of her, Draco was scanning the bar in case anyone was watching them.

"Hermione, it's good to see you." Dean said as him and Seamus arrived at the table.

Hermione stood and greeted her old friends with a hug and a smile. The two Gryffindor's greeted Hermione warmly but were wary of the former Slytherin sitting beside her.

When Hermione explained the reason for her visit both Dean and Seamus were too upset to question the reason for Draco's presence let alone resent it.

"What do you need to know?" Seamus asked once the shock had begun to wear off.

"I just need you to tell me about Friday night and Oliver." Hermione said.

"I'm not sure we can add anything more than what we told the M.L.E. officer on Monday." Dean shrugged, still shocked by the news. "Oliver and the rest of his team were in the bar drinking like they do most Friday nights."

"The team are regulars." Hermione confirmed.

"Yes, they don't come in if they have a game on Saturday afternoon, but other than that they're in every week." Seamus said.

"Was there anything unusual about Friday?" Hermione asked.

"No. The lads were drinking, there was some girls with them for a while but they left about an hour before any of the lads went home." Dean said, trying to recall the night.

"You said Oliver stayed behind after the others left, why did he do that?" Hermione asked, making notes in a small pad.

"Me and Oliver been talking for about ten minutes before the others left." Seamus said. "We hadn't finished so he stayed for another five minutes or so."

"What were you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Oliver had been approached to organise a charity match. He was hoping to persuade Harry to play, he was asking me how often I saw him to pass the message on."

"And that took fifteen minutes." Draco said, causing both Dean and Seamus to stare at him. they had forgotten the blond was there and even if they had remembered they wouldn't have expected him to talk.

"No, we chatted in general as well." Seamus replied, not looking happy at having to answer to Draco.

"Did you see anyone hanging around outside when Oliver left?" Hermione said, rubbing her temple. She was starting to get a headache.

"We didn't leave the bar, we were cleaning up." Dean said. "There was no sign of anyone when we left half an hour later."

"Thanks guys." Hermione smiled weakly.

"Are you okay, Hermione? You look so pale." Dean asked, concerned about his friend.

"Yes, today's just been a bit hard." Hermione said.

"Of course." Seamus said sympathetically.

Hermione and Draco stood to leave the pub. Hermione chatted with Dean and Seamus for a few seconds more until Draco insisted they leave.

"Come on, when we've given the report to Potter I'm taking you home." Draco said, holding on to Hermione's arm.

As the meeting with Dean and Seamus had worn on Hermione had started to look worse and worse. Hermione wanted to protest, but she felt lousy and didn't have the energy to fight against someone who had clearly made their mind up. Too tired to argue, she leant against Draco who immediately put his arm around her, pulling her into his side.

Satisfied Hermione wasn't going to argue with him, Draco apparated them back to the Ministry where they headed off to the Auror department to see Harry.


	9. Chapter 9

Wednesday, June 19th 3.00pm.

Hermione opened her eyes and stretched her body. Looking at the clock she was surprised to realise it was already three o'clock, she had been asleep for nearly an hour.

After leaving a message for Harry concerning the meeting with Dean and Seamus, Draco had taken Hermione home. Insisting she rest, he had given her a headache potion and sent her to bed. Normally Hermione would have fought against someone who was bossing her around but she was feeling ill and it was nice to have someone who was concerned with her welfare.

After a quick wash and change of clothes, Hermione went downstairs to find Draco. She found the blond sitting on the sofa watching the TV.

"I didn't think you would know how to work the TV." Hermione said, entering the room and sitting down beside Draco.

"Ryan taught me." Draco said, grinning at the memories of the small boy. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you for making me rest." Hermione replied, smiling at the blond.

"You needed it." Draco shrugged. "Potter called by a couple of minutes ago."

"What did he say?" Hermione asked, eager to find out if there had been any developments.

"Not much, the meeting tomorrow is at ten."

"That was it, nothing new to report." Hermione was slightly dejected, she had been hoping for some progress.

"No." Draco shook his head, he could see how disappointed Hermione was with the news.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" Hermione asked standing up.

"Yes, please." Draco said. He knew Hermione needed something to do to take her mind off what was happening around her.

When Hermione returned Draco could see that Hermione was still upset, he racked his brains trying to think of some way to cheer her up.

"I'm fine, you don't have to look at me like that." Hermione said, noticing the concern in Draco's grey eyes.

"You don't look fine. How do you normally cheer yourself up?" Draco said.

"By spending time with Ryan or baking cakes." Hermione said "I used to make cakes with my mum all the time." She smiled wistfully at the memories.

"Why don't you anymore?" Draco asked, seizing on the mention of her parents to hopefully get his questions answered.

"My parents are in Australia, with no memory of me." Hermione said. "I obliviated them before the war so they would be safe. After the war when I went to find them again, I couldn't remove the spell."

"I'm sorry, Hermione." Draco said. He was mentally kicking himself for bringing up a topic that made Hermione even sadder.

"It's okay." Hermione said.

"I know, why don't we go and pick Ryan up from school. Then when we come back you can make us a cake." Draco said, hoping to make the brunette smile.

He succeeded as Hermione's face lit up with a large smile at the idea. "Yes, we'll have to tell Molly though, so she doesn't waste her time going to pick Ryan up."

"Fine, we'll stop by The Burrow on the way." Draco said standing up. "Come on, get ready."

"Thank you, for cheering me up." Hermione said as she stood up.

Draco just smiled at the brunette as she rushed around getting ready. It felt good to make the tense witch smile.

* * *

Wednesday, June 19th 4.15pm.

Hermione put her cake into the oven, set the timer and headed over to the window to look outside. After arriving home with Ryan, the six year old immediately wanted to play in the garden. Hermione had tried to get the little boy to help her make a cake but he wanted to play outdoors. Eventually it was decided Hermione would make a cake while Ryan and Draco would play outside.

Hermione watched as Draco flew around the garden with Ryan. Hermione had initially been reluctant to allow Ryan onto an adult broom, even with supervision, but Draco eventually persuaded her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her son.

Heading outdoors she heard Ryan whooping and yelling at Draco to fly faster. Hermione felt a mixture of anxiousness and happiness as she watched Draco expertly fly the pair of them around the garden. All of a sudden Draco turned the broom and came flying straight towards Hermione, stopping inches in front of the panicked witch.

"Wow, Mum that was awesome." Ryan exclaimed as Draco helped him down from the broom.

"Really, it looked scary to me." Hermione said, ruffling her son's hair.

"Mum's scared of flying." Ryan whispered loudly to Draco.

"I'm not. I just don't like it." Hermione insisted, embarrassed her son had revealed her biggest fear.

"Dad says you're scared." Ryan insisted.

"Maybe you just need to fly with someone who knows how to handle a broom." Draco said with a smirk. "Fancy a spin."

Hermione felt the butterflies again as Draco waited for her response. Hermione found herself speechless as she looked at Draco, both of them staring intently at the other.

"I need to sort dinner." Hermione said, pulling her gaze away from Draco's stormy eyes. "What do you want?"

"Pizza! Pizza!" Ryan chanted jumping up and down.

"Fine, we'll order pizza." Hermione said, watching as Draco elegantly disembarked from the broom. "Let's go inside."

"Draco, come and play zoo's." Ryan yelled, running into the house.

"Ryan, walk don't run." Hermione shouted after her son.

Draco sent the broom flying back to the shed, where he had gotten it from in the first place, before following Hermione into the house.

"Mum, I need help with my animals." Ryan shouted down the stairs.

"I'll go." Draco said.

Hermione watched with a smile as Draco went to help her son. She wondered how Ryan would feel once this was over and Draco wasn't a part of their lives anymore. She had a feeling he was going to be upset and would miss the blond man terribly. Taking her cake from the oven, Hermione realised that Ryan wouldn't be the only one who would miss Draco. In the last two days she had spent quite a lot of time with Draco and she had found he was someone she could be herself with. She had come to realise that she was growing quite attached to the former Slytherin herself.

* * *

Wednesday, June 19th 8.00pm.

Hermione checked on her son one final time before she went back down stairs. After the brief awkwardness between her and Draco in the garden, the night had gone surprisingly well. Hermione had ordered pizza and the three of them had settled down to play with Ryan's toys as they ate pizza and the cake Hermione had made earlier. Hermione had watched her son and her former adversary, amazed at how easily Draco had interacted with her son. Hermione couldn't help but wish that the situation was different and that Draco was in their home because he wanted to be, not because he was protecting them.

"Thank you for tonight, Ryan had fun." Hermione said, as she re-entered the front room.

"So did I." Draco grinned. "He's a great kid."

"He is, but I might be a little biased." Hermione said. "You're great with him."

"Thanks." Draco said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't used to receiving compliments.

"Why haven't you had any children of your own?" Hermione asked casually.

"Is that your subtle way of asking about my divorce?" Draco laughed.

Hermione shrugged non-committedly, knowing that Draco had seen right through her. She had found herself wondering more about his marriage since last night. At the time Hermione had read about Draco's divorce but she had never really given it any serious thought. Over the course of the day as Draco had looked after her and showed his softer side Hermione found herself wondering why his wife had let him go, the woman must have been mad.

"How about we do a deal? I tell you about Astoria and you tell me about Weasley."

Hermione looked at Draco, she was eager to find out about his wife and clearly he was eager to find out about Ron. "Okay." She agreed.

Draco took a deep breath before starting, his marriage was something he rarely talked about and only a small handful of people knew the real reason behind his divorce.

"First of all, I didn't divorce Astoria because she couldn't have children." Draco said. The story that he had callously dumped his wife when she couldn't produce the next Malfoy heir was the most popular rumour surrounding their divorce. "I also didn't kick her out of our house and leave her penniless. She still has the house and got a generous settlement."

"I never thought you did any of those things." Hermione reassured him. "How did you meet?"

"At Blaise and Daphne's engagement party. She's a few years younger than Daphne so she's always been around I just never noticed her until that night." Draco smiled slightly at the memory.

"So it was love at first sight." Hermione said, noticing Draco's slight smile.

"No." He laughed shaking his head. "Lust maybe. We went home together and it soon became a regular thing. Within a couple of months we started dating properly, that's when we fell in love."

"You got married quite quick, didn't you?" Hermione said, she could remember the surprise in the wizarding world when Draco's marriage was announced.

"Yes, five months after the party. We arranged it in secret and then summoned our parents the morning of the wedding."

"You just summoned your parents to your wedding? How did they react?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Mother was surprised but happy and the Greengrasses were thrilled their daughter was marrying into the Malfoy family." Draco replied.

"So what went wrong? It sounds like the two of you were happy?"

"We were." Draco smiled wistfully before his features turned serious. "Then Astoria discovered she was pregnant. She was devastated, I was thrilled."

"You never discussed children before getting married?" Hermione said, wondering what had happened to the baby.

"No, we were in such a rush to get married we never thought about it. I guess we should have." Draco sighed. He had realised some time ago that all the hurt both him and Astoria had endured could have been avoided if they had talked properly before rushing into marriage.

"What happened with the baby?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Astoria agreed to have the baby, she knew how much it meant to me. But one day while she was visiting Daphne she tripped and fell down the stairs. She lost the baby." Draco said sadly, the memories of the loss still extremely vivid and painful.

"I'm sorry." Hermione put a hand on his arm to comfort him, the memories were still clearly upsetting for him.

"Astoria blamed herself, she felt that she was being punished for never wanting the baby in the first place. She was totally destroyed by the miscarriage." Draco said sadly.

"What about you?" Hermione asked, she had a feeling losing the baby had affected Draco greatly.

"I was devastated, but I had to be there for Astoria so I never let her see how much it affected me. It would have only made her feel worse." Draco admitted, the pain of losing the baby still very much a part of his life. "I'd spent the few weeks we knew about the baby planning all the things I was going to do with them. I was determined to be a better father than mine."

"I'm sure one day you'll be a great father." Hermione said, she knew that if the way he acted with Ryan was any indication he would be a natural parent. "What happened with you and Astoria?" She asked, eager to know what had happened to break up the marriage when he had clearly adored his wife.

"We tried to recover but the pregnancy had shown us that we wanted different things in life. Astoria was adamant she didn't want children, the miscarriage only made her more determined not to get pregnant again. I realised that I did want children, I wanted a family of my own." Draco explained. "We decided it was best for both of us to split. We may have loved each other but if we stayed together we would have ended up hating each other."

"Do you keep in touch?" Hermione asked, wondering if he still had contact with his ex and if he still loved her.

"Not really. I see her occasionally at Blaise and Daphne's gatherings. She's re-married now." Draco said.

"Do you still love her?" Hermione asked, hoping she wasn't overstepping the mark.

"Yes, I love her and want her to be happy but I'm not in love with her anymore." Draco said. "Does that make sense?"

"Perfectly." Hermione smiled. That was how she felt about Ron, although she doubted if she had ever been in love with her ex to begin with.

"Your turn now." Draco suddenly said, turning the tables on the brunette. "I know I used to joke about you and Weasley ending up together in school but I never actually thought it would happen."

"Why not?" Hermione wondered. Most people assumed her and Ron was destined to be together.

"You're so much smarter than him. As friends it isn't really an issue, but as a couple surely it's too much of a difference." Draco said, hoping he wasn't going to offend the brunette.

"Maybe you're right, although that wasn't the reason for the failure." Hermione said. "In all honesty we should have just remained friends."

"I thought you two had a fairy-tale romance until he left you." Draco said, remembering the gushing articles about the couple that had been a regular feature in the papers after the war.

"No. We got together in the aftermath of the war. By the time I went back to repeat my seventh year at school, I knew our relationship was a mistake." Hermione said.

"Why didn't you end it then?" Draco asked.

"We did, during Easter break that year me and Ron talked and agreed we were better off as friends." Hermione explained, knowing the next part of her story made her seem stupid. "But during the holidays Ron had a massive fight with Ginny and Harry. I was comforting him and we ended up in bed."

"That's when Ryan was conceived." Draco guessed the next part of the story.

"Yes. A few weeks after I returned to school I discovered I was pregnant." Hermione said. She could clearly remember how devastated she was when she found out she was expecting a baby.

"So you and Weasley decided to get married for Ryan's sake." Draco said, confused as to why she married a man she had just broken up with.

"Not exactly. We decided to stay separated with Ron having a major input in the baby's life." Hermione sighed, realising how mad she had been to marry Ron. "When we told Ron's family, Molly immediately assumed we were getting married. We tried to put her straight but she was in hysterics at the thought of her son having a baby outside of marriage."

"So you got married to keep Mrs Weasley happy?" Draco asked. He was surprised that someone as strong willed as Hermione would cave to such pressure.

"Yes, me and Ron discussed it and decided to give it a try. I was terrified at the thought of being a young single mother, marrying Ron meant I wouldn't have to cope alone. " Hermione said. "Looking back I know it was a major mistake. One I wouldn't make again."

"If you married each other when you're weren't in love, what made you finally split?" Draco asked.

"This is where part of the newspaper articles are true. Ron didn't leave me for Wanda exactly, but he had already met her." Hermione said. "He came and told me he had met someone he thought he could fall in love with. I wanted him to be happy so I said we should divorce."

"You loved him and wanted him to be happy, even though you weren't in love with him." Draco said, recognising his own situation mirrored in Hermione.

"Yes." Hermione smiled, also noticing the similarities between her and Draco's relationships. "The split was amicable, we remained close for Ryan's sake and because the friendship we shared initially was still strong."

"So the papers exaggerated the animosity in your split." Draco said.

"Yes, there's no gossip in a mutual parting of the ways." Hermione shrugged. The hurtful articles surrounding her divorce no longer bothered her.

"True, it's much better if there's a bad guy." Draco said bitterly.

"The press are idiots. You're not a bad guy." Hermione said softly. She had a feeling the articles describing Draco as a vengeful husband still bothered the blond.

"I was once." Draco said, looking at the brunette and remembering a time he had been downright cruel to her.

"Not anymore." Hermione whispered, her head moving closer to Draco's until their lips were inches apart.

Slowly Draco closed the gap bringing their lips together softly. What started out as a soft kiss soon became more passionate as both parties lost themselves in the embrace.

Hermione and Draco stayed on the sofa kissing like teenagers for nearly fifteen minutes before they parted ways for the night, both heading to bed with thoughts of each other running through their heads.


	10. Chapter 10

Thursday, June 20th 8.30am.

Settling down with his morning coffee, the man smiled at the headlines in The Daily Prophet. The news of Oliver Wood's murder was the main story throughout the paper. Carefully he read every word, wondering if anyone had made the link with Granger. A very brief mention of their relationship was all the man could find. Satisfied that at least the world knew of his existence he flicked through the rest of the paper.

Turning to the gossip section he stopped abruptly when the main headline and picture caught his eye. '_War Heroine's hot new romance.' _The headline screamed. Accompanying the article was a picture of Granger and Malfoy looking very cosy, she was leaning against the blond as he put his arm around her.

Quickly he read the article that claimed that the pair had partaken in a quiet pub lunch before taking the afternoon off work to continue their passionate affair.

A closer examination of the photo revealed the picture had been taken outside The Brave Lion. Clearly they had been investigating Oliver's disappearance. That didn't explain why they were looking so cosy though.

Putting the paper down the man contemplated the newest development. It was going to be difficult enough to separate Granger from the former Slytherin when the time came to do so, but it would be even more so if they were romantically involved. He needed a plan to stop Malfoy becoming emotionally involved with Granger. He needed something that would bring their budding relationship to a grinding halt.

Carefully he thought about what he knew about Malfoy, unfortunately that wasn't much as the blond was notoriously private. He thought about all the newspaper articles he had read and all the gossip he had heard. Using the ex-wife was no good as he had callously dumped her and she was now living in America.

His eyes widened as he suddenly realised how to rattle the blond. It was something he remembered finding out about after the war, the real reason that he had stayed on the dark side. His mother, Narcissa. In Malfoy's trial it had emerged that Voldemort had threatened his mother's life if he didn't comply to The Dark Lord's wishes. He would deliver a message through Narcissa Malfoy.

Unfortunately Narcissa would have to wait until the next day, his schedule for the day was jam packed. First he had to go to work and then tonight he had a trip to Norfolk to take. Pleased with his plans, the man got up and started getting dressed for work.

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 9.30am.

"I thought your job was to stop things like this." Ron yelled, throwing a copy of The Daily Prophet onto the desk.

"I was brought in to control the stories surrounding the murders." Theo said calmly. "No one told me I had to stop articles about Draco and Granger's romance."

"There is no romance." Ron spat, causing both Draco and Hermione to look away guiltily.

Draco and Hermione hadn't found time to discuss the previous night. But both were acutely aware of the attraction they had for one another, and now every time they looked at each other they remembered the kiss they had shared.

When he had read the story about his best friend and her bodyguard over breakfast, Harry had immediately arranged a meeting to discuss the newspaper article and the implication for the case. He wasn't sure if there was any truth in the story or if it was just Rita Skeeter stirring things as she was so fond of doing, but either way the story needed dealing with. Currently him and Ron were in Hermione's office with her, Draco and Theo.

"We can issue a rebuttal." Theo suggested.

"No." Draco and Hermione both said together, causing three heads to swivel in their direction.

"If we deny the story then people are going to wonder why we were together." Hermione explained.

"And if we do that, they might start to dig." Draco added, immediately in sync with Hermione's logic. "We all know what Skeeter's like, if she senses a juicy story she won't stop."

"Draco's right." Hermione said. "At the minute all the sly beetle has is a rumour of a romance. Imagine if she started digging into the murder's."

"Okay. We'll ignore it, for now." Harry said. "Come on, Ron. we have things to do before the meeting."

With a brief goodbye to Hermione, Harry left the room. Ron trailed behind him but not before giving Theo another disapproving stare.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea I should have been watching for stories about you two." Theo said, turning to the couple in question as soon as Ron had left the room.

"It's okay, Theo. It's not your fault." Hermione smiled. "You couldn't have known that horrid Skeeter woman was following us."

"I'll make sure nothing else is printed." Theo said, embarrassed he hadn't done his job well enough.

"It's alright really, Theo." Draco reassured his old friend, he knew from past experience that Theo suffered from lack of confidence. "You did a great job on the murder case."

"Thanks." Theo blushed, before hurrying out of the room to get back to work.

"That was nice." Hermione said.

"What?" Draco asked, sitting down on the sofa in the corner of Hermione's office.

"What you said to Theo, praising his work." Hermione sat down opposite Draco and looked at the blond.

"It was true." Draco said. "He sometimes lacks confidence in himself, I was just helping."

"Why does he lack confidence?" Hermione wondered. The Theo Nott she remembered from school was quite cocky.

"You know his father was a Death Eater." Hermione nodded, Nott Sr. had been one of the first to be convicted after the war. "He disliked the fact that I was given the mark and his son wasn't. He took it out on Theo. He used to beat him and told him he was a huge disappointment to him. He even threatened to disinherit him once."

"That's horrible." Hermione exclaimed, shocked that someone would treat their own son with such malice.

"It is." Draco said. He was about to say more when a pale purple envelope appeared out of nowhere and fluttered into his lap. "Bloody woman." He muttered picking up the envelope.

"She's extremely persistent." Hermione laughed as Draco opened the letter with a snarl.

The letter was from Draco's mother, Narcissa, and it was the fourth he had received that day. When the first letter had arrived at Hermione's house as they were having breakfast she had been worried that someone had managed to breach the security surrounding her house. Draco had explained the letter was from his mother, she wasn't keen on owls and preferred to deliver mail using a spell she had invented herself.

The letter had demanded that Draco contact her and explain the article in the paper. At the time neither Hermione or Draco had seen the paper and had no idea what Narcissa was talking about. A quick flick through the paper that had been sitting unopened on the kitchen bench, revealed exactly what article Narcissa meant.

Draco had scrawled a quick note to his mother telling her he would visit when he had time. That didn't seem to satisfy the elder woman though as two more letters had appeared in front of him before they had even arrived at the Ministry.

"She's not giving up." Draco muttered, reading the letter in his mother's elegant penmanship.

"Is she angry?" Hermione asked.

"No, she's nosey." Draco put the letter down on the table. "She wants gossip."

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked, wondering if he was going to pay a visit to his mother.

"Right now nothing." Draco replied standing up. "The meeting's starting in a few minutes."

Hermione hurriedly got up and together they left her cosy office and headed for the conference room.

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 10.30am.

Hermione sat in the conference room growing more and more agitated by the lack of progress the Auror's were making. Terry and Cho still had no idea why Melinda was in the alley or any idea on who she was meeting.

Dudley had delivered his full profile of the killer, but it also didn't really tell them much. He had concluded that the killer was most likely a male and had been deeply hurt emotionally, by something for which he held Hermione responsible. He also said that the killer was intelligent and probably had a very good job. Not that any of this was any help in identifying the killer.

The only slightly positive news was that Michael had found a trace of Pansy. Three weeks after her mother's death she had been in Dublin. But even that small piece of information wasn't necessarily vital to the investigation as the killer was now believed to be male.

Ron was currently explaining how him and Harry had concluded that the killer was likely still in the stadium when Oliver's body was discovered. Because of the short time scale in which he could have left Oliver on the pitch, they thought it highly unlikely he had time to leave the crowded arena before the body was discovered at seven.

"It's extremely likely that the killer was still there. He had arranged for a public revelation of the body. My guess is he would have wanted to witness the event first hand." Dudley backed up Harry and Ron's theory with his profiling skills.

"That's what we thought." Ron said. "So I cast a spell on the list of names the M.L.E. officers took from people attending the match and cross referenced them with the names from Hermione's case files."

"Any luck?" Draco asked.

"No. No one appears on both lists. But I also cross referenced the names with files on known and suspected Death Eaters, hoping to find a match."

"And you did." Hermione concluded by Ron's smug expression.

"Yes, several. Only two are viable options though. Marcus Flint and Gregory Goyle." Ron said, smiling.

"There's no way either Greg or Marcus are clever enough to be behind this." Draco scoffed at Ron's suggestions.

"Maybe they've changed." Ron said, stubbornly. "It's worth looking into."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Draco sneered.

"Enough." Harry said, holding his hands up at the bickering pair. "Even though Malfoy's probably right and Goyle and Flint lack the intelligence to carry our this plan they still need to be checked out."

Harry then moved the meeting on, and after delivering assignments dismissed the group.

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 12.05pm.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, concerned by the length of time Hermione had been quiet.

Since they had returned from the meeting without an assignment nearly an hour ago, Hermione had been sitting brooding at her desk.

"Not really. I can't believe we still haven't made any real progress." Hermione sighed.

"I know. But I'm sure Potter knows what he's doing." Draco said.

"I know he does, so does Ron. But it's so hard when people are dying because of me." Hermione said quietly.

Draco noticed how upset Hermione was becoming and moved to bedside her desk. Perching on the edge of her desk he made sure the brunette witch was looking at him before he spoke.

"People aren't dying because of you. They're dying because there is some mad man out there that harbours a ridiculous grudge."

"How do you know the grudge is ridiculous? He could have a valid reason for hating me." Hermione said, staring into Draco's deep grey eyes.

"That's not possible. No one could have a valid reason for hating you." Draco said, tucking a stray strand of Hermione's hair behind her ear.

"You used to." Hermione said. She often found it weird to think the thoughtful man she had come to know over the past few days was the same person as the hateful bully she had went to school with.

"I never hated you." Draco admitted. "I disliked you because I was supposed to. Now I actually like you."

"Really?" Hermione smiled softly. She was desperate for the blond to kiss her again.

"Really." Draco replied, bending his head so their lips were only centimetres apart. "I really like you." He whispered before moving forward slightly and pressing his lips against Hermione's.

Hermione and Draco continued to kiss for several minutes before Hermione pulled away, flushed and slightly out of breath.

"Maybe we should go and get some lunch." Hermione suggested.

"Okay." Draco agreed, his eyes never leaving Hermione as she rushed around her office getting ready.


	11. Chapter 11

Thursday, June 20th 1.20pm.

Harry hurried along to Hermione's office, wondering why his friend had requested a meeting. He had spent the morning at Puddlemere United's stadium working with the security team in place there to try and figure out how the killer had gotten Oliver's body onto the pitch without being caught.

Reaching Hermione's office, Harry checked with her temporary secretary it was okay to enter before he knocked once and pushed the door open. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Hermione and Draco sitting on the sofa in the corner of Hermione's office. He had expected to find his friend at her desk buried in her work, that was how he usually found her whenever he visited her in her office.

"Harry, sit down." Hermione greeted her friend. "Did you have any luck this morning?"

"Some, we think we know the route the killer took. We're working on confirming it." Harry said taking a seat opposite the pair. "What's the emergency?"

"No emergency." Hermione smiled. "We were just wondering if we could tell Draco's mother about the case."

"Why? No offense Malfoy, but your mother bugging you about the papers is not really my main concern right now."

"Not for that reason, Potter." Draco rolled his eyes at the raven haired man. "We thought she might be able to help us with information about the Parkinson's, or any of the other Death Eater's you're looking into."

"That's actually a good idea. We're still working on the list Hermione gave us. But we've been so busy we haven't had a lot of time to do much with it." Harry said, thoughtfully. "Can she be trusted to keep it confidential?"

"Of course." Draco said.

"I give my permission then. Hopefully it will provide a break in the case." Harry said standing back up. He had a boat load of work to do, and not enough hours in the day to complete it. "Let me know if you get any new information."

After Harry had left, Draco wrote a quick note to his mother requesting that him and Hermione pay her a visit.

"Are you sure about this? Going back there." Draco asked.

When Hermione had first suggested the plan to visit his mother over lunch he had been sceptical but her enthusiasm had won him over. However when he mentioned the Manor her demeanour had changed and she was a lot more nervous about her idea.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Hermione said, even though she was unsure how she would react once she was in the house that had haunted her dreams for months.

"If you want to leave when we get there just say and we'll go." Draco said, he didn't want to put Hermione under any more stress.

"I will, thank you." Hermione smiled. "What are you going to tell your mother about the story in the paper?"

"The truth, that it's not true. And that my job is to purely to protect you from the killer." Draco said. "Not that'll she'll believe me."

"Why not? It's the truth." Hermione said, shrugging her shoulder.

"Mother will be able to tell that there's more between us than me protecting you." Draco explained.

"Is there more?" Hermione asked.

"Definitely, I don't go round kissing people I'm protecting." Draco said. He sensed Hermione was unsure of his intentions towards her. "And I definitely don't talk about my past."

"Really." Hermione said softly. She had known the previous night that it had taken a lot for Draco to confide in her about his marriage.

"Really." Draco moved closer to Hermione and entwined the fingers on their hands that were between them. "Only a small handful of people know about the baby. And you're the first person I've ever told, the first person I've ever let see how much it devastated me."

Hermione wasn't sure how to reply to Draco. He had just opened his heart to her and she knew that it was extremely difficult for him to do so. Deciding actions spoke louder than words, Hermione reached up and kissed Draco softly. Draco pulled Hermione closer to him and deepened the kiss, producing a soft moan from the brunette.

Just as they were getting into the kiss, an envelope appeared in front of Draco. Reluctantly tearing themselves away from each other, Draco opened the letter and read what his mother had to say.

"Mother says she'll be delighted if we would join her for afternoon tea at three o'clock."

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 3.00pm.

Hermione's heart was hammering as she stood inside a large ornately decorated room at Malfoy Manor. Her and Draco had flooed into the Manor mere moments before and she had yet to regain her composure.

Before Hermione had a chance to recover, a tall elegant blonde woman swept into the room. Her hair was styled neatly on top of her head and she was wearing the most beautiful robes in deep sapphire with flecks of silver running throughout the design.

"Draco, darling." Narcissa exclaimed, hugging her son. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." Draco responded, smiling warmly at his mother. "Mother, I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Malfoy." Hermione said, mustering up all the courage she could find.

"And you, my dear." Narcissa smiled. "But please call me Narcissa."

Hermione smiled, relaxing in the woman's presence. Like her son she seemed to have changed for the better since the war that nearly tore her family apart.

"Why don't we go into the back garden and you can tell me all about your budding relationship." Narcissa said, beckoning her son and Hermione to follow her as she swept out of the room.

Draco put his hand on the small of Hermione's back as they followed Narcissa through the large house. He could sense she was uneasy and was hoping to offer her some comfort. Draco's comforting presence combined with the fact that Narcissa had obviously redecorated the entire house made Hermione feel better at being in the place where she was once tortured.

Arriving in a large open plan kitchen, Narcissa opened a large glass door and Hermione found herself staring at a very large and very beautiful garden. While Narcissa led them to a glass table with four chairs around it, Hermione admired the wonderful garden.

There was a large portion of neatly cut grass, surrounded by beautiful rose bushes of various colours. Hermione could see a large pond that seemed to back onto a mini orchard. Also in the distance she could see what appeared to be a maze cut into immaculately trimmed hedges.

"You have a lovely garden." Hermione said, politely.

"Thank you. I spend most of my spare time out here." Narcissa said. "Let's get some refreshments, Pixie."

Hermione started to protest when Narcissa called for a house elf but found herself speechless when the elf appeared next to Narcissa. The elf was wearing a lovely light blue summer dress and was obviously not mistreated in any way. Hermione watched as Narcissa very politely asked the elf to provide refreshments.

"All the elves at the Manor are free elves. They're treated well and are all paid." Draco leant over to Hermione and whispered in her ear. He had noticed how surprised she had been by the elf's appearance.

"Thank you, Pixie." Narcissa smiled at the small elf when she returned with a tray loaded with goodies. "Please, help yourself." She told Hermione once the elf had disappeared again.

While everyone sorted their food and drinks, Narcissa smiled at her son and his new lady friend. She had noticed the way he had explained the house elf's appearance to her, getting much closer to her than was necessary.

"Well then, would you care to fill me in on the latest events of your life Draco." Narcissa said, sipping on her earl grey tea.

"It's not what you think." Draco said, explaining about the recent murders.

"That's terrible." Narcissa gasped. "How are you coping?" She asked Hermione.

"Okay, it's scary but I'm sure Harry and Ron will catch whoever is doing this." Hermione said. She sounded a lot more confident than she felt.

"And what about your son, this must be hard for him." Narcissa could remember reading about Hermione having a son only a few years after the war had ended.

"I'm not sure it's really hit him yet. So far it's a new adventure with someone new to play with." Hermione said. "He's far more interested in playing with Draco to think about why he's with us."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, young boys are surprisingly resilient." Narcissa said.

She was thrilled to hear that Draco had formed a connection with Hermione's son. Despite the earlier protests of a romantic relationship, there was clearly something going on between her son and Hermione. Narcissa found she didn't object to her son having a potential relationship with a muggle born. Her ideas on blood purity had never been as resolute as her husband's and since the war she had all but abandoned the archaic beliefs. Instead of a seeing a witch who was unworthy of her son when she looked at Hermione, she saw a strong independent witch who could be exactly what Draco needed to bring him back to life.

Since his divorce two years ago, Narcissa had been seriously worried about her son. He had thrown himself into his job, becoming head of his department seven months after he signed the final divorce papers. He never dated anymore and only went out with his friends on the odd occasion.

Narcissa was worried that the miscarriage Astoria suffered shortly before their divorce had affected Draco far more than he liked to pretend. While her son had put on a brave face and supported his wife during the traumatic time, Narcissa could see how much it had broken him.

"We do have an ulterior motive for coming today." Draco said, pulling Narcissa's attention back to the present. "We need your help."

"What with?" Narcissa asked, curious as to how she could be of assistance.

"First off, The Parkinson's. Mrs Parkinson's dead." Draco said.

"That's dreadful. I can't say I was particularly fond of Gloria but it's still sad. How's Pansy?" Narcissa said.

"Missing. One of the investigation team is trying to find her." Hermione said, nibbling on a mini lemon cake.

"You think Pansy's involved?" Narcissa asked, shaking her head in surprise. She had known Pansy since she was a young girl and never would have pegged her as someone who could get involved in something so cold and heartless.

"Maybe, she does have reason to hate Hermione. She prosecuted her father, leaving the family penniless." Draco said, watching as his mother's eyes widened in surprise when he mentioned the money.

"What do you mean penniless. Gloria was showing off pictures of her new villa in the south of France for weeks before her and Pansy left."

"There never was a villa. Pansy and her mother were living in the poorest part of wizarding Paris." Hermione explained. "I take it no one knew this."

"No, no one. One of the girls would have mentioned something like this." Narcissa said. Once a month she had dinner and drinks with some long term friends, mainly pure blood women who had nothing better to do than gossip about other's less fortunate than themselves.

"Have you heard anything about the Parkinson's since they left?" Draco asked.

"No, as far as I know no one has heard anything from them. I can subtly ask next time I see the girls." Narcissa offered, she was quite taken with the idea of playing detective.

"When will that be?" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow night."

"Good. We were also wondering if you could help us with some family background on these people." Draco said, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket. "Is there anyone you can think of that might want to avenge them being sent to prison."

Narcissa took the paper off Draco and examined the names on the list. She thought back to the years when Death Eaters were regular visitors to the Manor and what she could remember about the men she tried to avoid.

"Yaxley and Macnair were both unmarried with no family. I'm sure Derek Crabbe had a sister." Narcissa sat deep in thought for a while before speaking again. "Yes he did, she was younger than him. I don't know if she ever married though, I never actually met her."

"How do you know about her?" Draco asked, he could never remember Vince mentioning an aunt while they were friends.

"Zoe used to complain about her, she hated the woman. Apparently Derek's sister didn't like the fact that Zoe got an old heirloom as an engagement ring. She felt it should have been hers. It caused a lot of bad feeling between the two women." Narcissa said, before turning back to the list.

While Narcissa was thinking about the next person on the list, Draco quietly explained to Hermione that Zoe was Vincent Crabbe's mother and that she had abandoned her family some time during their second year at Hogwarts.

"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about Rabastan." Narcissa looked at her son who shook his head. The less he had to talk about his deranged aunt's family the better.

"Now the Carrow's were brought up by their uncle. I don't think he's dead, but during the second war I'm sure I heard one of them say he's housebound." Narcissa said, passing the paper back to Draco. "I don't know his name I'm afraid, they just used to call him Uncle C. I don't know if the C was for Carrow or a first name."

"Thank you. You've been a great help." Hermione smiled at Narcissa.

"You're most welcome." Narcissa smiled back at the younger witch.

"We really should be going. We need to give Potter the information we have before we go and pick Ryan up." Draco said.

Narcissa watched with a smirk as Draco helped Hermione stand up from her chair, his hand unnecessarily brushing against her side. Narcissa stood and offered to walk her son and Hermione back into the front parlour.

"Thank you, once again. Tea was lovely." Hermione said to Draco's mother as they arrived at the fireplace.

"You're most welcome, my dear. Hopefully you can come again." Narcissa said, throwing her son a pointed look. "Maybe next time you could bring your son, I'm sure he would love to explore the garden."

"We really must be going." Draco interrupted his mother before she could drop any more hints about future visits. "I'll see you soon mother."

Draco hurriedly kissed his mother on the cheek and ushered Hermione into the floo network, eager to get her away from his interfering mother.

Narcissa watched Draco and Hermione leave with a large smile on her face. For the first time in over two years her son was genuinely happy, and the reason was clearly Hermione and her son. Narcissa hadn't failed to notice the smile that played around her son's lips as Hermione talked about Ryan, he was clearly becoming attached to the young boy.

Heading back to the garden for another cup of tea, Narcissa couldn't help but hope that things worked out for Draco and Hermione. Her son deserved to be happy and from everything she knew and had read about Hermione, she also deserved happiness. Hopefully they could find it in each other.


	12. Chapter 12

Thursday, June 20th 6.00pm.

Draco had found himself in a situation he had never expected to be in, namely having dinner with The Weasley's at The Burrow. After leaving his mother and the Manor, Draco and Hermione had headed back to the Ministry to give Harry the information they had discovered. After a quick conversation with Harry they had then left to pick up Ryan. They'd only been at The Burrow a few minutes when Molly invited them to stay for dinner.

While Ryan yelled his approval, Hermione had looked to Draco for an answer. She hadn't wanted the blond to feel uncomfortable, so she had left the decision up to him. Draco had noticed how excited Ryan was at the thought so he had agreed, not wanting to upset Hermione's son. The brilliant smile he had received from Hermione had been enough for him to realise that while dinner may be slightly awkward it was the right thing to accept the invitation.

Dinner wasn't actually as awkward as Draco had expected. Apart from Molly and Arthur the only member of the family to arrive for dinner was Ginny. She had explained since Harry was busy working it was easier to eat with her parents rather than cook for one.

Even though the Weasley's had been friendly and welcoming, Draco still found himself spending most of his time with Ryan. The young boy spent ages telling him about everything he had done as school.

While Draco was talking and playing with Ryan he noticed that Hermione and Ginny were gossiping quietly. Draco was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but the fact the pair kept sneaking looks at him made him think they were discussing him. Draco couldn't help but smile at the fact the two women obviously thought they were been sneaky in talking about him and watching him. Draco became more curious as to what they were actually discussing in regards to him when Ginny said something that caused Hermione to blush fiercely.

Draco never found out what the women were discussing as Molly called the group into the kitchen for dinner. Dinner was a roast chicken dinner followed by strawberry trifle for dessert. The group was just finishing dessert when the floo network sounded in the front room.

Before anyone had a chance to go and see who had arrived, an angry looking Ron appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Dad, you missed dinner. We had chicken and trifle." Ryan immediately went and wrapped his small arms around Ron's legs when his father appeared in the room.

"That's nice, Ry." Ron said, absent-mindedly patting his son on the head as he stared at Hermione and Draco.

"Why don't we go and play with your Quidditch figures." Ginny said to her nephew. She sensed her brother was about to cause a scene and didn't want Ryan to witness it.

"That's a great idea. Me and Grandma will come too." Arthur said, gesturing for Molly to follow him.

Hermione mouthed a thank you to Ginny as she took Ryan into the front room.

"Molly, it's fine." Hermione said to her ex mother-in-law.

She was clearly uncertain of leaving the kitchen despite her husband trying to make her. Hermione's reassurance was enough to convince The Weasley matriarch to leave the room. Molly followed Arthur into the front room but not before warning her youngest son to behave himself.

As soon as Molly and Arthur left the room, Hermione whipped out her wand and silenced the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was for Ryan to hear his parents arguing. And from the look on Ron's face that was exactly what he had come for.

"What the hell were you thinking, Hermione. Going back there." Ron shouted at Hermione before turning his attention to Draco. "And you, what sort of sick game are you playing taking her to that house."

"Ron, stop it. It was my idea to visit the Manor. I was also perfectly fine." Hermione interrupted Ron.

"Hermione you were tortured there. You can't honestly expect me to believe you went back willingly." Ron argued, shooting evil looks in Draco's direction.

"I did. Draco didn't make me do anything." Hermione said trying to remain calm. "Besides, it's none of your business."

"Of course it's my business. Your my ex and that git is supposed to be protecting you, not taking you to homes of Death Eaters."

"My mother is not a Death Eater." Draco said coldly. "Be careful of what accusations you throw around, Weasley."

"Why? It's not like you can do anything about it." Ron sneered at the blond.

"You'd be surprised." Draco said, looking menacingly at Ron.

"Stop it, both of you." Hermione said, standing between the two men. "As you said Ron, I'm your ex. I'm not your responsibility. What I choose to do has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does. I'm involved in this investigation and you can't just go round visiting places you were once tortured in without telling anyone. What if anything had happened to you." Ron fumed.

"Harry knew where we were." Hermione stated. She was getting sick of Ron's attitude. "And nothing was going to happen to me."

"I still don't like it." Ron said, pacing the floor. "Your clearly not safe with him. I'm talking to Kingsley tomorrow and having him removed from the case and guard duties."

"You will do no such thing." Hermione yelled. "I refuse to have anyone but Draco protecting me and Ryan."

Ron stared at Hermione for several minutes before yelling again. "Fine you let the Death Eater protect you. But he goes nowhere near my son, Ryan's coming home with me."

"No, you can't do that." Hermione yelled as Ron turned to leave the room.

"Watch me." He said.

"I don't think so, Weasley." Draco said placing a hand around Ron's arm.

"Get off me." Ron whirled round and tried to get out of Draco's strong hold.

"No. You're going to listen to me first." Draco said, not relinquishing the hold he had of Ron's arm. "You may not like me but it's my job to protect Hermione and Ryan. I won't let you take Ryan to somewhere he won't have enough protection."

"He'll have protection. I'm an Auror and most importantly his father." Ron spat, furious the blond was trying to tell him when he could see his own son.

"I know you can look after him, Weasley. But what happens when you have to go to work?"

"Wanda can look after him." Ron said.

"But she can't protect him the same way." Hermione argued.

"She manages fine with Natalie." Ron huffed. Natalie was his and Wanda's eight month old daughter.

"That's different. You know there's a chance the killer might try to get to Ryan." Hermione said slowly. Just mentioning the words killer and Ryan in the same sentence gave her chills.

"I'll hire extra security. I'll find a way. I won't let my son spend any more time with him." Ron shouted, trying once again to free himself from Draco's grip.

"You don't have a choice Ron. I have custody of Ryan, and I won't let you take him." Hermione said. Normally Hermione wouldn't dream of mentioning custody of Ryan, since the divorce Ron had been able to see Ryan whenever he wanted.

Ron stopped struggling and stared at Hermione with a horrified look on his face.

"Please Ron, I don't want to fight. You know I would never put Ryan in any danger. He's safer with me and Draco." Hermione pleaded with her ex.

Hermione could see her logic was working on Ron so she gestured for Draco to release him.

"I know you wouldn't put him in danger. And I know he's safer with you and Malfoy." Ron admitted. "When Harry said where you'd been I just panicked. That house doesn't just hold bad memories for you, it holds them for me too."

"I know." Hermione said, putting a comforting hand on Ron's arm. "But I was perfectly safe. In fact I don't think I went anywhere near that room."

"You didn't. Mother had it blocked off after the war." Draco said.

"Sorry." Ron said quietly to Hermione.

"It's okay." Hermione said. "But I think it's time we went home."

"Can I just say bye to Ryan?" Ron asked.

"Of course." Hermione said attempting to smile at her ex.

As Ron left the room, Draco moved closer to Hermione to check she was okay. Hermione told him she was fine but Draco didn't quite believe her. She had clearly been upset by Ron's behaviour and Draco suspected the only reason she made amends with her ex was for their son's sake.

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 8.30pm.

The man stood observing the small cottage. He had arrived at his latest target's house nearly an hour ago but at the moment the occupant of the cottage had a guest. The man had stayed hidden in the shadows as he waited for the unexpected guest to leave the house.

Just as the man was thinking about altering his plans the front door opened and two people were illuminated in the doorway. The woman who was his target stayed inside as the younger woman headed down the path and towards her motor vehicle.

The man waited until the younger woman had left and the other woman had returned to her cottage. A glance in the window showed that the woman had returned to her front room and was sitting reading her book.

Checking there was no one to witness his arrival, the man headed towards the front door and knocked. While he was waiting for a reply the man took out his wand and position it so it was pointing at the front door.

The door opened and a woman in her mid-fifties stood before him, a friendly smile on her face. Before the woman had a chance to speak the man stunned her, causing her to crash to the floor. Quickly the man entered the house and shut the door behind him. Grabbing onto the unconscious woman the man apparated away. He had been in the house less than twenty seconds.

Arriving at his house the man levitated the woman alongside him as he made his way to the dark basement. Using the restraints he had bound Oliver Wood with the man secured the unconscious woman.

Staring at the woman he wondered if he should kill her now or wait until later. He wanted this body to make a statement. He wanted everyone who saw it to realise there was a connection to Granger. Hopefully someone would tell the press about the connection and then the whole wizarding world would wonder just what The Gryffindor Princess had done to have someone torment her so ruthlessly.

Leaving the basement, the man decided to let the woman live a few more hours. Killing her tomorrow night would be fine. Tonight he had to work out how to get to Narcissa Malfoy and how to give her a message for her son.

After an hour of thinking he finally decided on a plan. He just hoped he could get close enough to the elegant blonde woman to deliver his message.

* * *

Thursday, June 20th 11.10pm.

Hermione stormed round her bedroom, throwing clothes about as she got ready for bed. She was still furious with Ron for his actions this afternoon. While she had forgiven his rash behaviour for Ryan's sake, Hermione found it hard to let go of how hot headed her former husband had been.

Once they had returned home from the Burrow, Hermione had headed into the dining room to work. Both Ryan and Draco had left her alone as they sensed she was in a bad mood. While Hermione had worked all night, Draco kept Ryan entertained before his bedtime.

The only time Hermione had briefly stopped working was when she was tucking Ryan in and reading him his bedtime story. Draco had offered to listen if she wanted to talk but Hermione had still been too furious so had declined the blond's offer. For the rest of the night Hermione did her paperwork while Draco sat in the front room reading a book.

Looking around the room, Hermione sighed at the mess she had made. Just because she was mad at Ron it was no excuse to take it out on her innocent belongings. After tidying her room, Hermione decided to go and get a drink before she settled down to sleep.

It wasn't until she was downstairs that Hermione remembered she wasn't alone in the house. The kitchen light was on, and Hermione knew that it wasn't Ryan in the room. Cursing herself for not remembering her dressing gown, Hermione looked down at her pyjamas that consisted of tiny shorts and a strappy top. There was no way she could run into Draco wearing so little.

Before Hermione had a chance to flee back upstairs, Draco appeared in the kitchen doorway. Hermione couldn't help but stare at the sight before her. Draco was wearing dark blue pyjama pants that hung low on his hips and nothing else. Hermione looked at his pale sculpted torso, he obviously kept himself in good condition.

"I thought I heard footsteps. I'm just getting a drink." Draco said, his eyes darkening as he observed Hermione's scantily clad body.

"That's what I came for." Hermione said, trying not to blush at Draco's attention.

As Hermione followed Draco into the kitchen, she admired the view from behind. As Hermione got a glass and filled it with water from the tap she could feel Draco watching her the entire time.

"You seem to have calmed down a bit." Draco said, watching Hermione's every move.

"Was I that bad?" Hermione asked, still facing the sink.

"Yes." Draco said, moving to stand behind Hermione.

Hermione could feel the heat from Draco's body as he stood very close to her. Slowly she turned and faced the blond.

"Ron just winds me up sometimes." Hermione said, trying not to stare at Draco's half naked body.

"I'm not surprised. Weasley always winds me up." Draco admitted.

Hermione didn't respond, instead she looked into Draco's deep grey eyes. Suddenly she was very aware of how close they were standing to each other considering how little they were wearing. After a few seconds of looking into each other's eyes, Draco leant forward and kissed Hermione.

Unlike their other kisses that started off gently, this one was forceful and passionate from the beginning. Draco immediately pressed closer to Hermione, trapping her between the kitchen counter and his hard body. Hermione responded just as eagerly, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck and pulling him as close as he could get.

When they broke the kiss in need of air, the couple looked at each other briefly before re-joining their lips together. Somehow as they were kissing they managed to manoeuvre Hermione so she was sitting on the kitchen counter. Draco positioned himself in between Hermione's legs, producing a moan from both parties. Hermione could feel exactly how aroused Draco was.

As Draco started trailing kisses down Hermione's neck, both of their hands started wandering over the other's body in exploration. Hermione's hands explored Draco's firm torso and played with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. One of Draco's hands caressed down Hermione's side before making its way to tangle in her thick hair while the other one rested on her bare leg.

Draco moved his head back up and caught Hermione's lips again. Hermione parted her lips slightly to allow Draco's tongue access to her warm mouth. As they were kissing, Draco's hand started moving up Hermione's bare leg and under her short pyjama bottoms. As Draco's hand caressed the top of her thigh, Hermione threw her head back and moaned in pleasure.

Draco latched on to Hermione's exposed neck and started to lick and kiss the exposed skin, working his way down to the top of her breasts that were only just covered by her top. As Draco's hand carried on caressing her thigh, slowly moving towards her warm centre Hermione dropped her head onto Draco's shoulder. As Hermione could feel Draco's hand nearing where she was desperate to be touched she moved her head so she could whisper in his ear.

Just as Hermione was about to beg Draco to touch her, she heard a noise coming from the stairs. Draco heard it too and the pair of them froze. Listening closely they could hear the small footsteps creeping closer. Realising that Ryan was heading their way the pair sprung apart, fixing their clothes and trying to calm themselves.

Luckily they had time to make themselves presentable before Ryan appeared in the doorway.

"Mum, I had a scary dream. Can I sleep with you?" Ryan asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was dressed in a pair of pyjamas with a cartoon monkey on the front and was dragging his teddy bear behind him.

"Of course darling." Hermione said. She was wondering if the bad dream was a delayed reaction to the danger they were in or a result of Ron's behaviour earlier.

As Hermione took hold of Ryan's hand and started to take him to bed, she shared a brief look with Draco. She could clearly see the lust still evident in his eyes and was fairly certain that if Ryan hadn't interrupted them they would have slept together.

Draco watched as Hermione took Ryan upstairs. That last lingering look they had shared as she left the room, evidence that things would have gone a lot further if they hadn't been interrupted. Draco stayed in the kitchen for several minutes after Hermione and Ryan had left before he headed up to the spare room for a restless night's sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Friday, June 21st 9.00am.

Harry was waiting in Hermione's office when Hermione and Draco entered it on Friday morning. Harry didn't fail to spot how closely they were walking together or how comfortable they appeared to be with each other.

"Harry, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you before the meeting." Hermione greeted her friend. As she was talking she removed her jacket and hung it up behind the door.

"The meeting's the reason I'm here. It's been pushed back to twelve." Harry said, choosing not to comment on his friend's closeness with her bodyguard.

"Why? Has there been any developments?" Draco asked.

"Not really. I'm just working on the information you got from your mother, hopefully by twelve I'll have a little more to report." Harry explained.

"That's fine Harry. I've got a big case next week and I still have a bit of work to do on it." Hermione said as she sat down at her desk.

"I'll be off then. See you at twelve." Harry said as he left the office.

Once Harry had left, Draco headed to the corner where he usually worked. He still had other on-going security work to do. The French Minister of Magic was visiting Britain next month and Draco was in the middle of organising the security surrounding the trip.

As both Draco and Hermione did their respective work there was a subtle hint of sexual tension in the air. The previous night hadn't been discussed and neither of them seemed keen to bring up the subject, hoping to avoid any awkwardness. Despite not discussing the situation both of them were aware of what would have happened if Ryan hadn't arrived on the scene. Both Hermione and Draco were also aware that it would happen again and it was only a matter of time before they ended up in bed together. Not that either of them had a problem with this, in fact it was something they were both looking forward to.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 12.05pm.

The tension in the conference room was palpable. Ron kept throwing Draco dirty looks, which the blond was steadfastly ignoring.

Harry started the meeting by apologising for the late start, and explaining Dudley was ill and wouldn't be attending the day's meeting.

"Ron, do you wish to start." Harry turned to his friend.

"Sure." Ron muttered, sorting through his papers. "I spoke to both Flint and Goyle. They were both attending the game with friends. I've checked out their alibi's and they're solid."

"So we can definitely rule out Flint and Goyle." Harry said, looking down at his own notes. "Michael, have you made any progress?"

"Not really, it's hard to track someone from a desk in London. I was hoping you would agree to me going to Dublin for the weekend. Hopefully I can pick up the trail again."

"That's fine." Harry nodded. "When would you leave?"

"Today. I can arrange a port key for this afternoon." Michael said.

"Good. You can leave now if you want, I'm sure you'll need to go home and pack a bag." Harry said.

"Thanks, Harry." Michael smiled, standing up from his seat. "I'll keep you informed of any progress."

After Michael left, Terry confirmed they now knew exactly how the killer had gotten Oliver's body onto the pitch. The team concluded it had taken a lot of planning and observation for the disposal of the body to run as smoothly. All this backed up Dudley's profile that the killer was smart and organised.

"Yesterday we got some more information on families of the Death Eater's on our list." Harry said, nodding in Draco's direction.

"If it's reliable information." Ron muttered.

"It's reliable, Weasley." Draco snarled back at the redhead.

"I looked into the Carrow's uncle first." Harry said, ignoring the bickering that was going on at the table. "His name was Clarence Carrow."

"Was. Does that mean he's dead?" Hermione asked, picking up on the tense Harry used while saying the man's name.

"Yes. He died just over three years ago. Apart from Amycus and Alecto he had no family. I think we can rule out any involvement from the Carrow family." Harry said.

The collected group let out a soft groan, but it was the news they had been expecting. It was a long shot that some uncle of the Carrow's barely anyone had heard of was the culprit.

"I did make slightly more progress on the Crabbe's." Harry said. "Derek Crabbe did have a younger sister, Cassidy. I've found a record of her birth, but no record of her death. So we have to assume she's alive."

"What if she's married?" Cho asked.

"I can't find a record of that either. Hopefully her sister-in-law can help us with more information." Harry said.

"You've found Mrs Crabbe?" Draco asked shocked. The woman had just disappeared thirteen years ago and never been heard from since.

"Yes. She's now Mrs Foster living in Canada with her husband and daughter."

"How's that possible? Surely she didn't divorce her first husband?" Draco asked. He was quite shocked by the entire thing.

"She didn't. She ran off to Canada with her second husband and they married less than a year later." Harry explained.

"She's a bigamist." Terry exclaimed.

"Yes. When we talk to her, I'm hoping to use it to our advantage that we can arrest her for bigamy." Harry said.

"When are you going to talk to her?" Hermione asked. She wondered if the woman was going to Harry or if he was going to her.

"She'll be coming to the Ministry on Sunday." Harry said with a grimace. He was not looking forward to working on a Sunday but knew that the case had to be solved as quickly as possible.

"You said she lived with her husband and daughter. How old is the daughter?" Draco asked.

"Ten." Harry said. He had a good idea why the blond was asking.

Draco digested what Harry had just told him. Thirteen years ago Zoe Crabbe had abandoned her son and had then had another child three years later. Draco knew for a fact that Vince had had no idea where his mother was, so he would have had no idea he had a younger sister before he died.

Harry offered the blond a sympathetic smile before continuing. "I know we don't normally work weekends unless we have to, but I'm afraid we will have to work this one."

There were nods all around the room, everyone had been expecting the news.

"If there's nothing else. I think that's it for now. Everyone knows what they're doing." Harry said, dismissing the meeting.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 1.15pm.

After the meeting, Hermione and Draco had headed to a nearby café for lunch. It was a place that Hermione often frequented during the week.

"I've been thinking." Hermione said, placing her half eaten toasted sandwich onto her plate.

"What about?" Draco asked.

"The weekend. If we're working it'll be easier if we ask Molly to keep Ryan at The Burrow for the weekend." Hermione replied, sipping her coffee.

"That's fine. We can pop in after lunch if you want." Draco said.

Hermione agreed and the pair finished their lunch, both trying to ignore the fact that Ryan's absence would leave them alone for the entire weekend.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 1.45pm.

"Molly." Hermione called as her and Draco arrived at The Burrow.

A quick look around the front room showed no sign of the woman, so Hermione headed into the kitchen. Looking out of the kitchen window Hermione spotted Molly de-gnoming the back garden.

Heading to the backdoor, Hermione called for her former mother-in-law again. Hearing Hermione, Molly waved brightly and headed back into the house.

"Hermione. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Molly asked, panicking creeping into her voice.

"Everything's fine, Molly." Hermione reassured the older woman. Since the war Molly was easily panicked about the safety of her family. "I've actually come to ask you a favour."

"Of course, dear. I'll make some tea. The pair of you sit down." Molly started bustling around the compact kitchen making tea and cleaning herself from her garden activity.

Knowing there was no point arguing with the stubborn witch Hermione sat down at the kitchen table. When Draco gave her a questioning look, clearly wondering why they were stopping for tea, Hermione merely shrugged her shoulder in response.

"Now what's the favour." Molly said, placing three mugs of tea onto the table.

"I have to work this weekend and I was hoping you would have Ryan." Hermione said.

"I'd be delighted." Molly smiled. "Bill and Fleur are coming over with Victorie and I'm sure I can persuade Andromeda to drop by with Teddy."

"Thank you, Molly." Hermione said. She was constantly grateful that Molly was always on hand to help her with Ryan.

"You're welcome. When do you want me to take him? Tonight?" Hermione had to smile at Molly's eagerness to have her grandson stay over.

"I was thinking we could drop him off tomorrow morning." Hermione said, hoping she wasn't disappointing Molly too much.

"That's fine." Molly smiled.

Hermione and Draco finished their tea before rushing back to work. Their lunch break had taken slightly longer than they had intended.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 3.00pm.

The man stood in the shadows of Knockturn Alley. He was thankful he didn't have to worry about being spotted skulking around Knockturn Alley. The place was full of people up to no good. No one would give him a second glance.

From his vantage point in Knockturn Alley he could see the posh coffee shop on the corner of Diagon Alley. Since the war a string of new business had opened up in Diagon Alley and the coffee shop had proved to be one of the biggest hits.

He was currently waiting for Narcissa Malfoy to leave the coffee shop. She had been in the place for over an hour with her friend, Sophia Greengrass. The man was quite surprised the two women were still friends considering their children were no longer married.

The man checked his watch, it was getting late and he didn't want anyone to notice he was missing from work. The man didn't like to conduct his business in work hours but he could find no alternative time slot for dealing with Narcissa Malfoy.

A few minutes later the coffee shop doors opened and the woman he had been waiting for emerged. Emerging from Knockturn Alley into the crowds in Diagon Alley the man carefully started to follow Narcissa Malfoy and her friend.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 3.05pm.

"Honestly, we must get on." Narcissa sighed, checking the time. "We've spent the whole afternoon gossiping. I've got plenty of errands to run."

"I know." Sophia Greengrass said. "I've still got to buy a birthday present for Astoria."

Together the two women left the coffee shop. They were still gossiping but this time they were running their errands at the same time. As the women headed down Diagon Alley neither noticed the man who had slipped into the crowds and was now following them. They also failed to notice as the man slowly moved closer to them.

"Oh, that's lovely." Sophia said, stopping Narcissa and pointing in the window. "Do you think Astoria will like it."

The two women had stopped outside the jeweller's and were admiring a stunning jade bracelet.

"I think she'll love it." Narcissa said. She knew how fond of jewellery her former daughter-in-law was.

"I'll not be a minute." Sophia said to her friend as she headed into the small shop.

As she was waiting for her friend, Narcissa looked around at the nearby shops. Spotting the book shop opposite she decided to go and look at the window display of new wizarding romance novels. As she was crossing to the other side of Diagon Alley, Narcissa accidentally bumped into a man in a dark cloak.

"Sor…" She started to say before an excruciating pain in her side stopped her.

Looking down Narcissa saw the man pull a knife away from her side, dripping with her blood. The image of the blood stained knife was the last thing Narcissa saw as she collapsed to the floor and passed out.

Sophia was just coming out of the jeweller's when she saw her friend fall. Thinking Narcissa had fainted she ran over to the woman and was surprised to find her lying in a pool of blood.

"Oh god, she's bleeding. Somebody help!" Sophia called to the passers-by.

As people rushed to help Narcissa, nobody spotted the man in the dark cloak slip back into the shadows of Knockturn Alley.


	14. Chapter 14

Friday, June 21st 3.30pm.

Hermione and Draco were sitting in Hermione's office, working in comfortable silence when the office door flew open to reveal a flustered looking Harry.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, immediately thinking of Ryan.

"I've just come from Kingsley's office. He's just received a message from St Mungo's." Harry said. He had turned slightly so he was facing Draco rather than Hermione. "Narcissa's just been admitted. She was stabbed in Diagon Alley."

"Oh God." Hermione's hand flew up to her mouth in shock. "Draco are you okay?" She asked the blond who was sitting there not moving or speaking.

"Yes. I have to go to the hospital. Potter can you look after Hermione." Draco said, coming out of his shocked state.

"No, I'm coming with you." Hermione insisted. There was no way she was leaving Draco after he had been there for her this last week.

"Actually we both are." Harry said. "I can't rule out this isn't to do with the case, so I need to investigate."

"Fine but let's go." Draco said, heading out of the office.

Hermione picked up her bag and together with Harry followed the blond to The Atrium and through the floo network to St Mungo's.

Arriving at reception they gave the witch at the desk the details and were sent to the appropriate floor. Arriving on the right floor, they were greeted by a healer who introduced himself as Healer Hicks and immediately ushered them into a small office.

"I want to know how my mother is." Draco insisted when the healer shut the office door. He was annoyed that the man wouldn't take him directly to his mother.

"If you would sit down Mr Malfoy, I'll explain." The healer said patiently.

"Draco, sit down." Hermione said, placing a soothing hand on the blond's arm.

Reluctantly Draco sat down and waited for the healer to speak.

"My colleague is still working on Mrs Malfoy, but we have every reason she will make a complete recovery." Healer Hicks reassured Draco, causing the blond to slump in his seat in relief. "Luckily the knife missed hitting any major organs."

"What happened exactly?" Harry asked, the Auror in him coming to the fore.

"It appears Mrs Malfoy was stabbed in Diagon Alley. We found this in the pocket of her robes." Healer Hicks passed Harry a piece of paper.

Harry looked at the paper, it was a threat made up from words cut out of magazine and paper headlines.

"What is it?" Hermione asked as her friend paled.

Harry passed the paper to Hermione and both her and Draco looked in shock at the contents. Pasted onto the paper was the warning: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENTS WHEN PEOPLE GET TOO CLOSE TO GRANGER.

"This is my fault." Hermione whispered, still in shock at the note.

"It's not your fault, Hermione." Harry soothed.

"Can I see my mother now?" Draco asked, taking the note out of Hermione's hands and handing it note back to Harry without commenting on the contents.

"I need to check with my colleague, if you wait here I'll be back shortly." Healer Hicks said, moving to leave the room.

After Healer Hicks left the room, Harry left to make arrangements for the investigation into Narcissa's stabbing.

Once they were alone, Hermione wasn't sure what to say to Draco. She was blaming herself and so far the former Slytherin hadn't disagreed with that.

"It's not your fault." Draco said, as if reading Hermione's mind.

Hermione turned to look at Draco in shock. She wouldn't blame the blond if he walked away from her this instant. Draco swivelled round in his chair to face Hermione. Once he was facing the brunette witch, Draco reached out to cup her face.

"Don't you dare blame yourself. It's the fault of this demented psycho whose tormenting you." Draco said quietly.

"I wouldn't blame you if you said you wanted nothing to do with me." Hermione admitted, worried that it was still a possibility.

"Never going to happen." Draco whispered, looking into Hermione's deep brown eyes.

The sound of the door opening and the healer coming back into the room disturbed the couple, but not enough to make them spring apart. Both Draco and Hermione turned to the door but stayed within touching distance of each other.

"I can take you to your mother now." Healer Hicks said to Draco.

Draco stood up, pulling Hermione with him. Before he followed the healer, Draco held onto Hermione's hand for comfort. Hermione gently squeezed Draco's hand and together they followed the healer to Narcissa's room.

When they entered the room, Draco was shocked by his mother's pale and lifeless appearance.

"She'll wake up later." Healer Hicks reassured Draco. "I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Draco walked towards his mother's bedside, and gently moved her hair out of her face. He stood watching his mother for several minutes until Hermione ushered him into a chair next to the bed. Hermione sat down next to Draco, waiting in case he wanted to talk.

They'd only been in the room for a few minutes, when Harry popped his head round the door.

"I've got to go and brief my team. Do you need anything?"

"Yes. Can you ask Molly if she can have Ryan tonight as well." Hermione said, before turning to the blond beside her. "Draco, do you want anything."

Draco looked to be thinking for several minutes before he responded. "Yes. Can you get me a couple of members of my team to come here. I'm going to give mother some protection."

"That's a good idea." Harry nodded. "I'll be as quick as I can."

Harry disappeared for a few seconds before his head suddenly reappeared around the door frame. "I forgot. Sophia Greengrass is here, she was with your mother at the time. She wants to know if she can see Narcissa."

"Of course, send her in." Draco said. He had always liked his former mother-in-law and knew her and Narcissa were good friends.

When Harry disappeared this time he didn't return. Instead a sophisticated looking brunette woman entered the room.

"Draco. How is she?" Sophia asked, immediately hugging the blond man.

"Sleeping. The healer's say she'll be fine." Draco said.

"That's good news. It was so scary seeing her collapse like that." Sophia sighed, looking around for a chair.

"Have this seat, Mrs Greengrass." Hermione said, offering the older woman her chair.

"Thank you." Sophia said, taking the seat and turning her attention back to Draco and Narcissa.

Hermione wondered over to the window as Draco and Sophia were talking quietly. She felt like she was intruding but she knew that Draco wouldn't allow her to leave his sight, especially after what had just happened to his mother.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 4.15pm.

Harry walked into the conference room, where the hastily arranged meeting was been held, with a grim look on his face.

"What's happened Harry?" Ron asked. The request for a meeting had been a total surprise.

"This afternoon Narcissa Malfoy was stabbed in Diagon Alley." Harry said sombrely.

"What's that got to do with us?" Ron questioned. "It's probably someone protesting about her family's participation in the war."

Terry was nodding along with Ron's theory until a glare from Harry stopped the pair of them.

"This was found in her pocket." Harry said, placing the paper onto the table. By this point he had put it into an evidence bag so that no one else would touch it.

Ron, Terry and Cho all leant over the table to read the message, they were all shocked by the contents.

"Terry, I want you to take the threat and so if you can find anything." Harry said, taking charge of the meeting. "Cho I want you to go to St. Mungo's and examine Narcissa Malfoy. I want to know if she was stabbed by the same knife that's being used in the murder's."

As Cho and Terry hurried out of the room, Harry turned to his friend. "There's still a few things I've got to do. Can you make a start at Diagon Alley?"

"Of course." Ron said. "And I'm sorry for the remark I made about the Malfoy's earlier."

Harry nodded as his best friend left the room. Out of everyone he felt that Ron had grown up the least since school, he was still determined to hang onto things that were in the past. Harry wondered how Ron would react when he found out that there was something going on between Hermione and Draco. Harry had noticed how Hermione had calmed the blond at the hospital, when he was getting impatient. He had also noticed that when they left the healer's office to go to Narcissa's room they were holding hands.

Still lost in thought, Harry left the conference room and headed to Draco's department. After that he planned on making a quick stop at the Burrow before he headed back to St. Mungo's.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 4.45pm.

Hermione and Draco were anxiously waiting outside Narcissa's room. Cho had arrived ten minutes ago and was currently examining Narcissa's wound. She had some information form the healer's dealing with Narcissa but she had wanted to see the wound for herself. Sophia Greengrass had headed home earlier, leaving a message for Harry to call her whenever he needed to speak with her.

Hermione was busy thinking about how much pain and suffering she was causing people when two men stepped off the elevator and headed in their direction. Hermione didn't realise the men were actually heading their way until she noticed Draco stand up. Looking up she recognised Ernie MacMillan, while the other man was vaguely familiar but she wasn't sure where from.

"Hermione you know Ernie. This is Adrian Pucey." Draco said, introducing the men.

Hermione vaguely remembered that Adrian was a former Slytherin, she thought that he had been a year or two ahead of them at school but she wasn't certain.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Hermione." Ernie said. Hermione smiled slightly as she could remember how pompous Ernie could be at times.

"I'm sorry about your mother, Draco." Adrian said to his boss.

"Thanks." Draco said. He then informed Adrian and Ernie that his mother was to have a twenty four hour guard until further notice.

As Draco was finishing giving his instructions to his men, Cho emerged from Narcissa's room.

"Is it the same knife?" Draco asked as soon as the former Ravenclaw appeared.

"I still need to run a few more tests." Cho said conservatively. She liked to be one hundred per cent sure of everything before she announced it officially.

"Please Cho. You must have a good idea." Hermione pleaded.

"I'll have it confirmed by tomorrow. But I'm fairly certain it's the same knife." Cho sighed.

"Thank you." Draco said.

"You're welcome. I need to get back to the lab." Cho said, heading to the elevators at the end of the hall.

Adrian's eyes followed Cho as she walked down the hallway. Something that didn't go unnoticed by his boss.

"Stop eying up women Pucey. Concentrate on your job." Draco snapped.

"Sorry." Adrian apologised. He knew Draco's snappy attitude was caused by stress over his mother's attack.

"Let's go back inside." Hermione said, gently placing a hand on Draco's arm.

After giving Adrian and Ernie some final instructions, Draco and Hermione headed back inside Narcissa's room to wait for her to wake up.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 5.30pm.

Harry hurried along the corridor at St. Mungo's, feeling bad for not getting back to the hospital sooner. After visiting Draco's department and sending two members of the team to the hospital, Harry headed for the Burrow. Despite trying to get out of his in-law's house quickly, Molly insisted on knowing what was going on. Explaining to Molly took a little bit of time.

Harry had been planning on returning to the hospital then, but he remembered that Ron was doing all the leg work in Diagon Alley. Heading to Diagon Alley, Harry consulted with his partner for several minutes before Ron told him to get back to the hospital.

When he had first arrived at the hospital he had been planning on talking to Sophia Greengrass, but he found the woman had left. Harry debated whether to visit her immediately but decided she could wait a few hours as he had her initial statement.

Arriving at Narcissa's room, Harry found her guard team at the door. After a quick chat with the two men, Harry knocked and entered the room.

"Hi. How is she?" Harry asked, closing the door behind him.

"The healer's say she'll wake up soon." Draco said, looking at his still sleeping mother.

"That's good. I've started the investigation, hopefully someone saw something useful." Harry said.

"Was Molly okay with having Ryan?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah it was fine." Harry said. "Ryan's okay as well. I told him that Draco's mother was ill and you were with him. And that's why he had to stay with Molly and Arthur. I hope that was okay."

"That's fine. Thanks Harry, at least now he won't worry as to why I haven't been to see him." Hermione smiled.

"You can go and see him if you want. Maybe take him some things." Draco said, turning to Hermione. "Adrian or Ernie can go with you."

"Would that be alright?" Hermione asked, she was eager to check on Ryan herself.

"Of course. But don't be long." Draco said.

"Thank you." Hermione beamed at Draco and totally forgetting about Harry, she leant over kissed Draco.

When Hermione pulled back from Draco she suddenly remembered the presence of her best friend in the room. Turning to Harry she found her friend watching them with a smirk on his face.

"I didn't see anything." He said, holding his hands up in innocence. "I'll go and arrange your escort."

When Harry had left the room, Hermione turned to face Draco unsure of how he would feel about what had just happened. Hermione was pleased to see a small smile on the blond's face, the first since he had heard about his mother.

"Sorry." Hermione said.

"What for? I'm not bothered if Potter knows there's something going on between us." Draco shrugged. "We've got nothing to hide."

Hermione smiled, pleased that Draco wasn't bothered if Harry knew their relationship was more than a professional one.

"I'll go and see Ryan." Hermione stood and gave Draco another kiss. "I'll not be long, promise."

Draco watched Hermione as she left the room. She had been brilliant today, a real support for him when he needed it. Smiling softly at thoughts of Hermione he turned back to his mother and tried to focus all his attention on her.


	15. Chapter 15

Friday, June 21st 8.30pm.

The man sat nursing his glass of firewhisky. So far his plan to drive Malfoy away from Granger seemed to be failing. When he had rushed to the hospital and his mother, Granger had gone with him. He had gotten hopeful when she left the hospital with one of his security team, but before he had a chance to make a move she was returning to his side, she hadn't even been gone an hour.

He tried to tell himself that Malfoy was just doing his job but his gut said there was still more between them than they were letting on. The man decided he would check back on the couple later, for now he had business to attend to downstairs.

Picking up his knife and his wand he headed for the basement. Unfortunately for the woman he was holding captive he wanted to make a big impact with her body. That meant he needed to carve more than one set of initials on her body. He wanted anyone who even glimpsed the body to be able to see the initials H.G.

Heading into the basement he decided to be merciful and kill the woman before he started the long detailed job of carving the initials on her body.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 9.00pm.

Hermione stretched out her body and stood up from the uncomfortable seat. After a brief visit to see Ryan and take him some belongings, Hermione had returned to the hospital. So far Narcissa had yet to wake but the healer's seemed confident she would do so soon.

In the time they had been waiting Draco had spoken about his childhood and how much Narcissa meant to him. Hermione had gotten the impression that Lucius had made little time for his family while Draco was growing up. As a result Narcissa had practically raised Draco single handed, resulting in their close relationship.

Hermione made her way over to the window, where Draco was standing looking out into the night.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, coming to stand beside him.

"I'm fine. I'd be better if mother would wake up." Draco sighed.

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon." Hermione smiled, trying to reassure Draco.

"I hope so." Draco turned to face Hermione. "Thank you, for being here."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else. You've been around for me and Ryan. Besides it's my fault Narcissa's here." Hermione said, turning her head away from Draco.

"We've been through this already. It's not your fault." Draco said forcefully. As he spoke he moved Hermione's head and forced her to look at him. "I know you're expecting me to abandon you after this. It's not happening, Granger. You're stuck with me."

Hermione smiled slightly at Draco as she analysed his words. She wondered if he was talking about being stuck with him for the duration of the case or something more permanent. A large part of Hermione hoped he was talking about being stuck with him for longer than the case.

Draco watched as Hermione thought about what he said. He could see her over analytical brain pouring over every word that had come out of his mouth. Draco wondered if she had understood that he hadn't just been talking about the case when he had told her she was stuck with him. Deciding to give her a hint, Draco leant over and kissed her softly on the lips.

A few minutes later Draco and Hermione were still kissing when a delicate cough disturbed them. Breaking apart, they whirled round surprised to find Narcissa watching them from her bed.

"Mother. You're awake." Draco exclaimed, rushing to her bedside.

"Yes." Narcissa winced slightly as she spoke. "I have been for some time."

Hermione blushed slightly as Narcissa made it clear that she had witnessed the entire kiss Hermione had shared with the blonde woman's son.

"I'll go and get the healer." Hermione said, heading for the door.

"No." Draco said, stopping Hermione in her tracks. "Ask either Adrian or Ernie. I don't want you leaving my sight."

"Fine." Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's overprotective behaviour but she did exactly as he asked of her.

"What happened?" Narcissa asked, her memory was slightly foggy on recent events.

"You were stabbed." Draco said. "We'll discuss it properly after the healer's checked you over."

Just then Healer Hicks entered the room.

"Mrs Malfoy, it's nice to see you're awake." The man smiled as he made his way to the bed.

Healer Hicks gave Narcissa a quick check over and announced she would have to stay in the hospital at least overnight, possibly two nights. Narcissa tried to protest but the healer insisted on the overnight stay. After administering a pain potion, Healer Hicks left the room insisting his patient wasn't to be tired out.

"Now would you care to explain what happened." Narcissa said, giving her son a pointed look.

Draco explained about what had happened to Narcissa while Hermione looked away feeling guilty.

"I can remember. I bumped into someone and when I turned to apologise I felt a terrible pain in my side." Narcissa said, when Draco had finished talking. "I looked down and saw the knife covered with blood. After that I don't remember a thing."

"That'll be when you collapsed." Draco said. "Did you get a look at the person you bumped into?"

"Not really. They were wearing a dark cloak. But I'm pretty sure it was a man, I think he was fairly young. Perhaps mid-twenties. He wasn't that tall, though. Not as tall as you." Narcissa told Draco. "Sorry I couldn't be more help."

"You've been a great help." Draco smiled.

Narcissa smiled at her son before turning her attention to Hermione. The young woman had been incredibly quiet since she had awoken. Narcissa had put it down to embarrassment due to the fact she had caught her and Draco kissing, but she noticed how uncomfortable Hermione was as Draco explained about her attack.

"Are you alright, dear?" Narcissa asked the brunette woman.

"I'm fine." Hermione said softly.

"She's blaming herself for what happened to you." Draco told his mother.

"That's ridiculous." Narcissa stated. "You didn't stab me."

"But I'm the reason you were attacked." Hermione said sadly.

"Nonsense. The reason I was attacked is because there is some mad man out there who is terrorising a lovely young woman." Narcissa said forcefully.

Hermione was incredibly touched by Narcissa's words. It seemed neither Malfoy was blaming her for Narcissa's attack, even though they had every right to hold her responsible.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled.

"I'm just telling the truth." Narcissa gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze. "It's getting late, shouldn't you two be getting back to Hermione's son."

"No. He's staying with Molly Weasley." Draco explained.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any inconvenience." Narcissa said to Hermione.

"You didn't." Hermione smiled at the older woman. "Ryan was always going to stay with The Weasley's for the weekend."

"Good. The last thing I want to do is disrupt a little boy's routine."

"Don't worry about Ryan, he's fine. An extra night at The Burrow means an extra night being spoilt." Hermione said.

"It's still late and I bet neither of you have eaten." Narcissa said. Both Draco and Hermione looked slightly guilty. "I thought so. You should go and have some food and get some rest. You can come back tomorrow."

Draco knew better than to argue with his mother so he nodded and stood up. "We'll go. We'll drop into the Manor and get you some things for the night."

Draco kissed his mother on the cheek, before leaving the room with Hermione. After giving Adrian and Ernie strict instructions to not leave their posts, Draco and Hermione headed for the floo network and Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 11.15pm.

Hermione finished putting the last of the dishes away in the kitchen before heading back into the front room where Draco was sitting. After dropping off some clothes and things for Narcissa, the pair headed back to Hermione's where they had something to eat. Over the course of the night, Draco had slowly gotten quieter and Hermione was worried about how he was coping with events of the day.

Hermione paused in the doorway to look at Draco, who was sitting staring into space. Hermione headed into the sitting room and sat down next to Draco, determined to make him talk about what was bothering him.

"What's wrong? And don't say nothing." Hermione said.

"I guess what happened today is just hitting me." Draco sighed. "If anything happened to mother I would be alone. She's my only family."

"What about Lucius? Surely he's released in a few years." Hermione said tentatively. Draco hadn't said a lot about his father but when he had mentioned him it was never in a flattering light.

"He will be." Draco nodded. "But it won't change anything. Our relationship was ruined well before he went to Azkaban."

"So there's no chance of any sort of reconciliation between the two of you." Hermione said.

"No. My mother's the only family I have." Draco said coldly.

"I often think like that. Without Ryan I'd have no one." Hermione tried to get the conversation back on track and away from Lucius.

"You've got The Weasley's. They clearly love you like family." Draco said.

"They love me because of Ryan." Hermione sighed. "Without him, I wouldn't be considered part of their family."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"It is. It's always been that way. Back in school they kind of adopted Harry, considered him their own. I was just a friend of Ron's." Hermione said. "That only changed when I married Ron and had Ryan."

Draco sat quiet, he had never considered that Hermione only had a loving family because she had a child with Ron.

"Maybe they think differently now, I hope they realise how lucky they are to have you." Draco said quietly.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "Although what you said earlier isn't true."

"Which part?" Draco asked puzzled.

"The part where you said you'd be alone if anything happened to Narcissa." Hermione said softly. "You wouldn't be. You'd have me."

"For how long?" Draco asked, his grey eyes boring into Hermione's brown ones as the sexual tension bubbled between the couple.

"As long as you want me." Hermione whispered, moving closer to Draco.

Draco moved forward and kissed Hermione soundly on the lips. When their lips parted, Hermione stood up and took Draco by the hand.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked.

"Bed." Hermione responded, smiling seductively at Draco.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, he didn't want Hermione to regret anything they did together.

"Yes." Hermione said, as she led Draco to the stairs.

Wordlessly Hermione led Draco to her bedroom. The room was large and spacious with light wood furniture and light purple walls.

Hermione led Draco to her large bed in the centre of the room. Abruptly Hermione stopped walking, causing Draco to run into her back.

"We don't have to do this." Draco whispered into Hermione's ear. He could sense the brunette was suddenly nervous.

Hermione turned round so she was facing Draco. "I want to. It's just been a long time."

"How long?" Draco asked, suddenly understanding Hermione's nervousness.

"Eighteen months." Hermione blushed. "I don't want to disappoint you."

Draco sat on Hermione's bed and pulled Hermione down next to him.

"You won't disappoint me. I can guarantee that." Draco said. "If we're worrying about how long it's been I've got more to worry about than you."

Hermione looked at Draco, wondering if he was being truthful or just trying to make her feel better. Hermione decided he was being truthful as he looked distinctly embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"How long?" She asked the blond.

"Two years." Draco admitted, dropping his head in embarrassment.

"Why's it been so long?" Hermione asked. She was astounded that someone as good looking as Draco could go two years without sleeping with someone.

"After Astoria and I split, I threw myself into work to deal with the loss of both her and the baby." Draco admitted. "I've never met anyone who has interested me. Until now."

Hermione smiled and leant up to kiss Draco. Draco responded passionately, pulling Hermione closer to him and tangling his hand in her thick long hair. Draco's hand that wasn't in Hermione's hair, started to clumsily unfasten the buttons on her silky blouse. Hermione broke the kiss and with shaky hands, helped Draco to unfasten the tiny buttons on her top.

When her blouse was open Hermione shyly removed it, blushing as Draco's eyes roved over her chest, covered only by the lacy bra she wore. Carefully he reached out and brushed his hand down Hermione's arm and onto her stomach. As Draco's hand travelled up her stomach, Hermione reached behind her and undid her bar. Making eye contact with Draco she removed the lacy material, revealing herself to his hungry eyes.

"You're beautiful." Draco said sincerely, pulling Hermione back to him for another kiss.

Still kissing the couple fell back onto Hermione's bed, limbs entangling with one another as they became more passionate.

* * *

Friday, June 21st 11.55pm.

The man growled in anger. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Granger was supposed to be suffering not enjoying herself.

After dealing with his latest victim, the man had headed to check on Granger and Malfoy. Some time ago he had discovered he could watch the back and side of Granger's house from a nearby alley.

When he arrived at Granger's house, he had found Granger in the kitchen doing the dishes. He had watched the brunette for some time before she disappeared into another part of the house. For a while there was no sign of any activity, but then Granger's bedroom light had snapped on.

Using the magical binoculars he had brought with him he watched as Granger and Malfoy entered her room. After talking briefly, Granger and Malfoy started to get physical with each other. The man took one last look into the bedroom, Malfoy had Granger pinned underneath him as he kissed his way down her body.

Turning away disgusted, the man prepared to apparate away. It was time to continue with his plan, tomorrow the next body would be found. And after that he would have to find a way to demoralise Granger. He wanted the witch broken before he finally confronted her and ended her life.


	16. Chapter 16

Saturday, June 22nd 9.30am.

Professor Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her office sorting out exam results when a flustered Neville Longbottom, the Herbology Professor, burst into her office.

"Sorry to just burst in, but we've got a situation at the main gates." Neville said, breathing heavily as he was slightly out of breath.

"What sort of situation?" Professor McGonagall asked. She knew it was the last Hogsmeade visit of the year and that the students were returning home for the summer the following week, but she hadn't expected trouble.

"There's a dead body at the gates." Neville said.

"What? Please say it's not one of our students." McGonagall said, standing up and heading for the door.

"It's not." Neville reassured the worried headmistress as they rushed from her office. "From what the students say it's an older woman."

"The students know about the body?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, it was a group of them that ran back to the school to inform someone."

"Where are the students now?" McGonagall asked.

"We've gathered them in the Great Hall. Professor Sinistra's headed into Hogsmeade to round up any stray students."

"What about the body? It hasn't been moved has it?" McGonagall asked. By this time the two Professor's had reached the entrance hall of the school.

"No. Hagrid's making sure the students steer clear." Neville said. "Should we call the Auror's?"

"Yes. You call them, I'll go and check on the situation at the gates." Professor McGonagall said as she rushed out the doors and headed down the driveway to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 9.45am.

"Maybe it's not one of our bodies." Ron said.

"I hope so. But my gut says it is." Harry said.

The pair had apparated into Hogsmeade after receiving the message from the school and were now heading to their former school.

"What the hell. How did they get here?" Ron exclaimed. A few metres ahead of them stood dozens of wizarding press.

"I don't know." Harry muttered.

Together Harry and Ron tried to fight their way through the crowds, trying to ignore the shouted questions. It was working well until the shrill voice of Rita Skeeter stopped them in their tracks.

"Is it true Hermione Granger's initials are carved all over the woman's body?" Smirking at the shocked reaction she had gotten, the trashy reporter tried another couple of questions. "Is it also true this case is linked to Oliver Wood? What's Granger got to do with the murders?"

"No comment." Harry spat.

Harry and Ron continued to march through the journalists that were all gossiping about what Rita had just shouted.

"Shit. We'll not be able to control this." Ron said as soon as they broke through the crowd.

"I know. We'll deal with that later. For now we've got a murder to deal with." Harry said.

Together they reached the school gates where Professor McGonagall and Hagrid was waiting for them. They had seen Hagrid as they approached so were not surprised by their old friend's presence.

"Harry, Ron. It's nice to see you." Professor McGonagall smiled at the pair. "Although the circumstances could be better."

"Hello Professor McGonagall, Hagrid." Harry nodded seriously. "I wish we were here in better circumstances."

"And without the press gawping at us." Ron muttered, looking back over his shoulder.

"Sorry about that." McGonagall tutted. "Some of the students actually went into Hogsmeade and within minutes those vultures were circling the gates."

"We'll deal with that later." Harry said. "For now let's have a look at the body."

Hagrid led Harry and Ron to the body he had covered with a blanket. Harry squatted down next to the body and pulled the blanket back.

"Bloody hell." Ron exclaimed.

Under the blanket was an older woman lying in her underwear. Carved all over her body, visible at a glance, were the initials H.G.

"Someone wanted everyone to know about Hermione's involvement." Harry said, covering the woman back up. "Do you recognise her?" He turned to ask Ron.

"Never seen her before." Ron shook his head.

"We'll need to talk to all the students." Harry told McGonagall. The headmistress nodded solemnly.

"Someone needs to tell Hermione." Ron added. "Before the press does."

"You're right. She might also be able to identify the victim." Harry said. "Do you want to go, or do you want to stay here to start the interviews."

"I'll stay here." Ron said immediately. He didn't fancy dealing with an emotional Hermione and her annoying bodyguard.

"Okay. I'll leave once Terry and Cho arrive and I've spoken to them." Harry said.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 10.30am.

Hermione was in the kitchen fixing coffee when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her body from behind. Hermione had been pleased to discover it felt extremely natural to wake up in bed next to Draco. There had been no awkwardness between the two of them, instead they just carried on with what they had been doing the previous night.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Hermione asked.

"No. Coffee's fine." Draco responded, placing kisses along Hermione's neck.

"Are you sure? We've still got half an hour before we have to be at the Ministry." Hermione said.

"I'm sure we can find something better to do than eat." Draco said, running his hands over Hermione's body.

"Really." Hermione smiled, turning in Draco's embrace so she was facing the blond.

Draco merely smirked at Hermione before pulling her to him for a passionate kiss. Hermione responded eagerly to the kiss, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten.

Breaking their kiss briefly, Draco removed Hermione's light yellow top as she unbuttoned his dark blue shirt. As they embraced again, Draco slowly began to slide the strap of Hermione's bra down her arm when a shout behind them stopped them in their tracks.

"Oh god."

Both Draco and Hermione looked towards the doorway only to find Harry standing there with his hand over his eyes.

"Harry. What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, blushing furiously.

As Draco buttoned his shirt, Hermione found her top lying on the kitchen table. She pulled it back on over her head, trying to forget about the embarrassing position her best friend had just caught her in.

"What's happened, Harry?" Hermione asked, suddenly realising it was unnecessary for Harry to visit when they would be seeing each other shortly.

"We've got another victim." Harry said, after checking it was safe for him to look. "They were discovered at Hogwarts this morning."

"Who?" Hermione asked, sinking onto a kitchen stool. Reality had just intruded back into her life. Since last night she had been so caught up with Draco that she had forgotten about what was happening around her.

"We don't know. We're hoping you can identify her for us." Harry hated the thought of putting Hermione through the torture of viewing the body but knew it was the fastest way to get an identification.

"Of course I will. When?" Hermione asked, looking slightly dazed.

"I'll give you time to get ready. When you come to the Ministry if you come to my office, I'll take you to Cho's lab." Harry said.

"Okay. We'll be there soon." Hermione said.

"I'm sorry, Hermione." Harry said sympathetically. "We'll catch him. I promise."

"I know you will Harry." Hermione smiled at her friend and gave him a hug before he left.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked Hermione once Harry had left the house.

"Not really." Hermione sighed.

Draco walked over to where Hermione was standing, pulling her into an embrace he wrapped the upset witch in his arms. Hermione let Draco comfort her, his musky scent calming her considerably and making her feel a lot better.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 11.00am.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked his friend.

Hermione nodded, and held onto Draco's hand for support. They were standing outside of Cho's lab, about to begin the identification. Harry pushed open the white double doors and the led the pair of them into a sterile looking room.

Harry led them to a table that was entirely covered with a white sheet, but the shape of a body was clearly visible. Cho was standing next to the table and she gave Hermione a small smile. Harry gave Cho a small nod and the witch pulled back the cover, revealing the face of the newest victim.

Hermione audibly gasped at the sight. Both the identity of the victim and the state of her face left Hermione stunned. Her initials were carved on the woman's face several times.

"Do you know her?" Harry asked, gesturing to Cho to cover the woman back up.

"Yes. That's Mrs Rose." Hermione said, still in shock.

"Whose Mrs Rose?" Harry asked.

"Maybe we should go to your office, Potter." Draco said, looking at Hermione carefully. She looked very pale and she was shaking slightly.

Harry agreed and led the way back to his office where Ron and Kingsley were waiting.

"Do you know who it is?" Ron asked as soon as they entered Harry's office.

"Let Hermione sit down first." Harry said as Draco looked at the redhead in disgust. He seemed totally unconcerned his ex-wife was visibly upset.

"Whose Mrs Rose?" Harry asked again, when Hermione had settled down in a seat.

"Mrs Rose was my muggle piano teacher. I stopped taking lessons with her when I started Hogwarts." Hermione explained quietly.

"I didn't know you could play the piano." Ron said, sounding offended Hermione had never told him.

"Now's not the time, Ron." Kingsley said. He didn't want personal matters to interfere with the investigation.

"Actually Ron might have a point." Harry said. "I never knew you could play the piano, either. Have you ever told anyone. That's maybe how the killer knew about Mrs Rose."

"That's not how the killer knows about her." Hermione shook her head. "I've only ever told one person, and he wouldn't do this. He has no reason to."

"We'll be the judge of that. Who did you tell?" Harry said.

"Charlie."

"You told my brother and not me." Ron sounded outraged.

"It's no big deal. We were talking once and it came up." Hermione said, not looking directly at Ron.

Draco was watching the conversation carefully. Hermione was nervous about something, there was definitely something she didn't want her ex to know.

"We'll have to liaise with the muggle authorities over this." Kingsley said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "Harry can you contact someone to help."

"Yes, I'll call Justin Finch-Fletchley. He works in the muggle liaison office." Harry said. "Hermione do you know Mrs Rose's first name and where she lives?"

"Her first name is Caroline. And I think I once heard my mum say she'd retired to Norfolk." Hermione said.

"Right, we'll get onto it." Harry said. "Hermione, I want you to go home for the weekend."

"But what about the meeting? And tomorrow. Mrs Crabbe's supposed to be coming to see you." Hermione protested, not wanting to be left out of things.

"Hermione, you've just been through a traumatic experience. You need to go home." Harry told his friend. "I'm cancelling today's meeting, we're too busy. And I promise to let you know how things go with Mrs Crabbe tomorrow."

"Fine. I'll go home." Hermione conceded, knowing Harry wasn't in the mood to be argued with.

"Before you go Hermione, there's something you need to know." Kingsley said, stopping Hermione as she was about to stand up. "The press have gotten hold of your connection to today's victim. And Skeeter's started to connect you to Oliver's death."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Some of the students at Hogwarts that saw the body this morning went into Hogsmeade and started to spread the gossip about the body." Ron explained. "As I'm sure you noticed your initials were easy to spot. It was easy enough for people to work out the initials were referring to you."

"So when tonight's edition of The Prophet comes out, everyone will know people are being killed because of me." Hermione sighed sadly.

"Can't Theo stop it being printed. I thought that was his job." Draco said. He disliked seeing Hermione so broken and was hoping to prevent any more devastation on her part.

"It is. But the press now know too much. It's impossible to stop the story quiet now. All we can do is try and control it somehow." Kingsley explained. He had being talking with Theo all morning looking for ways in which to calm the situation.

"Thank you for warning me." Hermione said, standing up.

With a quick goodbye, Hermione and Draco left the room. Hermione was suddenly eager to be nowhere near the investigation.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 12.30pm.

The man sat down to his lunch, quite happy with his morning work. As he had hoped some students at Hogwarts had rushed into Hogsmeade with the gossip and within minutes the press had hold of the story. And more importantly they had made the connection with Granger. Hopefully the first reports about her involvement would appear in tonight's evening edition of The Prophet.

One thing he wasn't happy about was Malfoy's continued involvement with Granger. The attack on his mother and the threat he had delivered seemed to have had no effect on the blond. Getting Granger out of his sight so he could snatch her could prove problematic. It was a problem he would have to think about over the weekend.

He was getting impatient, it was nearly time to stop messing with Granger and kill her. But first he had one more surprise in store for the witch. Today he would find his penultimate victim, and Granger was going to lead him straight to them.


	17. Chapter 17

Saturday, June 22nd 1.30pm.

Draco stood leaning against the doorway of Hermione's front room, watching as the brunette witch sat staring into space. Ever since Harry had ordered Hermione to return home, she had drawn into herself and had barely spoken to Draco.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked as he moved to sit beside Hermione.

"What's there to talk about." Hermione sighed. "Nothing's changed. There's still someone killing people I know and Harry and Ron have no idea who they're looking for."

"I can actually think of two things. First I was thinking you might want to talk about the fact things have just gotten a lot more serious." Draco said.

"I thought they already were." Hermione said, looking puzzled.

"They were. But I think his actions today prove he's stepping up a gear." Draco said, wondering if he was doing the right thing in discussing his theories with Hermione.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked intrigued.

"Well first of all he made sure your involvement in the case was made public knowledge." Draco said. "And the choice of victim proved how serious he's taking things."

"What does the killer targeting Mrs Rose have to do with anything?"

"It must have taken a great deal of time and effort to find someone from your muggle life. It would be very easy to discover the identity of your secretary and anyone who reads the papers would have known about your relationship with Oliver." Draco explained. "But to actually take the time to dig into your past and find someone you haven't even seen for years, that takes serious dedication."

"You're right. Only someone who truly wants to terrify me would go to such lengths." Hermione said slowly.

The implications of what Draco was saying was starting to sink in. It would have taken weeks of hard work and research to dig into her past and find Mrs Rose. Just like it would have taken weeks of planning to snatch Oliver and plant his body on the Quidditch pitch. However was tormenting her was serious about it, he wanted her broken for whatever reason. Hermione could only hope that Harry and Ron managed to catch him before he decided it was time to come for her personally.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I never meant to scare you." Draco said, feeling bad as he noticed how frightened Hermione had become. He wrapped his arm around Hermione and pulled her towards him.

"You didn't. I would have realised all that eventually. I'm just still shocked by what's been happening this week." Hermione said, settling against Draco.

"I'm still sorry. I have a tendency to speak before I think." Draco said.

"So do I most of the time." Hermione said. "Besides, I prefer it. At least I know what you really think."

Draco and Hermione sat together in silence for a while. Draco didn't want to say anything else that might upset the witch beside him any more than she already was.

"You said there were two things we could discuss. What was the other?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"I was wondering what you didn't want to tell Weasley this morning." Draco admitted, hoping Hermione wouldn't think he was being nosey.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Hermione said carefully.

"Yes you do. When he wanted to know why his brother knew about you playing the piano and he didn't, you made some feeble excuse."

Hermione sat up and looked at Draco, she was surprised he was able to read her so well after so little time.

"Fine. I didn't want Ron to know about when I told Charlie." Hermione admitted.

"Why?" Draco asked puzzled.

"Can you remember last night when I said I hadn't been with anyone in eighteen months." Draco nodded, but he didn't understand what Hermione was trying to say until she gave him a pointed look.

"You slept with your brother-in-law." Draco was shocked by the revelation.

"Ex Brother-in-law." Hermione muttered, before carrying on talking. "Charlie works in Romania and eighteen months ago he came home for a short holiday and to see his family. One night he was babysitting Ryan while I went out with Ginny. When I came home we talked for a while and had a few drinks. One thing led to another and we ended up in bed together."

"So it was a one off." Draco said.

"No. It carried on for the entire duration of his stay, about a month." Hermione admitted. "We both knew it wasn't serious, we were just having fun, so we didn't tell anyone."

"So he was the other ex you mentioned." Draco said and Hermione nodded. "I thought you said, he hadn't met Ryan."

"Ryan knew him as Uncle Charlie, not as my boyfriend." Hermione said. "A bit like you."

"How is that like me?" Draco asked.

"Well Ryan knows you as the person protecting us. But not as my…, well whatever we are." Hermione said, wondering what exactly her and Draco were.

"Lovers." Draco offered, making Hermione blush. "I know what you mean." He chuckled. "Although hopefully Ryan will eventually know me as more than the person protecting you."

"I'd like that." Hermione admitted. She knew that if the time came to introduce Draco to Ryan as her boyfriend it would be easier because of the strong bond the two had formed.

"Good." Draco smirked, pulling Hermione closer to him.

Just as the couple's lips met a barn owl swooped into the room with a letter. The sound of the bird, immediately tore them apart.

"Who's it from?" She asked Draco warily as he took the letter from the owl.

Draco carefully turned the envelope over in his hands, examining it for anything suspicious. Seeing the name of the sender on the back he rolled his eyes and handed it over to Hermione.

"It's from Flourish and Blotts. Only you would receive post from a book shop."

"The book I ordered must be in stock." Hermione said as she excitedly tore into the envelope. "It is." She said, as she read the short note.

"I suppose you want to go and get it." Draco said, it was nice to see Hermione smiling again.

"Yes, please. I've been dying to read it forever." Hermione said, smiling at Draco.

"What sort of book is it?" Draco asked, standing up.

"It's an extremely rare book on little known spells and enchantments." Hermione replied, also standing up. "It's really fascinating stuff."

"You're getting excited over a spell book." Draco smiled at Hermione's excitement and rolled his eyes at the brunette. "You're so odd."

Hermione playfully stuck her tongue out at Draco and headed to get her bag and shoes.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 2.15pm.

The man stood behind Granger's house waiting for her to lead him to his next victim. He checked the tracking spell to ensure he hadn't missed the witch's exit. A couple of weeks ago, he had managed to put the spell on her by accidently bumping into her at the Ministry.

Suddenly his wand flashed when the tracking spell activated. He checked the new location and found that Granger had headed to Diagon Alley. Before he apparated away he made sure he had his magical camera and his disguising spell was firmly in place.

The man was planning on following Granger around until he found a suitable victim so he wanted to make sure he wouldn't be spotted. The complex spell he had cast on himself caused him to have a different appearance every time someone looked at him. Granger could look straight at him on several occasions but each time she would see a different man.

Arriving at Diagon Alley it took the man a few minutes to spot Granger and Malfoy, they were just entering Gringotts. Following the couple into the wizarding bank, the man made sure his camera was capturing plenty of photos of people Granger spoke to. When he returned home he would pick one of those unfortunate people to be his next victim.

After Gringotts, he followed Granger and Malfoy to Flourish and Blotts. He got plenty of good shots of Granger talking to the young woman behind the counter in the book shop.

As he followed Granger and Malfoy to the small flower shop, he couldn't help but smirk at Malfoy's behaviour. The blond kept constantly checking the pair's surroundings and the people around them. While Malfoy was being a conscientious bodyguard, he was fighting a losing battle in trying to spot anyone suspicious.

When Granger and Malfoy left the florist and apparated away, the man decided not to follow them. Instead he apparated home, where he began to develop his film and find his newest victim.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 4.00pm.

After picking up Hermione's book in Diagon Alley, and some flowers for Narcissa, Draco and Hermione had headed to St Mungo's to see Draco's mother. Narcissa had been put out that the healers had demanded she stay another night, meaning her homecoming wouldn't take place until Sunday. After promising to see Narcissa the next day, Hermione and Draco had headed back to Hermione's. On the way home, they had picked up an evening edition of The Prophet and Draco was currently reading the front page story while Hermione prepared dinner.

"How bad is it?" Hermione asked Draco as she carried on chopping vegetables.

"Very." Draco winced as he read the article in the evening edition of the Prophet. "Skeeter's making it sound like everything is your fault."

"Makes sense. The woman's always hated me." Hermione snorted.

"I suppose you threatening to reveal she was an illegal animagus had nothing to do with it." Draco said.

"How did you know I did that?" Hermione asked, whirling around in shock.

"I have my ways. I am a Slytherin you know." Draco smirked.

"Oh I forgot. You were one of the Slytherin's feeding her nasty stories in fourth year." Hermione said, mock glaring at Draco.

"Sorry about that." Draco said sheepishly. While he now regretted the way he had behaved at school, at the time he had never thought about how Hermione was affected by what he did.

"It's okay, it was a long time ago." Hermione said, turning back to her cooking. "How much does she know?"

"Most of its just implications but it's actually pretty accurate in places. She's connected this death to Oliver's, and reports that the killer is taunting you." Draco said, putting down the paper.

"What does she say about why he's doing it?" Hermione said, wondering what lies Skeeter had printed about her.

"Not a lot. It's mainly innuendo, wondering what you've done to get someone so mad at you." Draco said.

"I think we're all wondering that." Hermione sighed sadly.

Draco stood up and walked over to where Hermione was standing. Reaching round her, he took the knife out of her hands and placed it on the counter top. He then turned her round and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a comforting embrace.

Hermione snuggled closer into Draco as she felt soft tears begin to fall from her eyes. As Hermione cried softly, Draco continued to hold her as he tried to comfort the upset witch. After several minutes Hermione pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry." She sniffed. "I didn't mean to cry on you."

"That's okay. I think most people in your situation would have broken down long before now." Draco said.

Hermione smiled softly at Draco, feeling much better after her mini meltdown. "I should finish preparing dinner."

"Do you need any help?" Draco asked.

"I'll be fine. You go and relax." Hermione smiled. She could still remember the panicked look on his face last time he offered to help her.

"Okay. Just shout if you need anything." Draco said.

He gave Hermione a quick kiss before leaving her alone to finish dinner. Hermione finished making dinner with a smile on her face, thought of Draco running through her head. She had felt incredibly safe and comforted when she was in his arms. She also trusted him implicitly as she had earlier revealed her biggest secret to him. And the physical side to their blossoming relationship was amazing and very passionate. Hermione couldn't help but smile wider when memories of the previous night and earlier in the morning ran through her head.

For the first time in her life she understood what the big fuss was all about regarding falling in love. Putting the dinner in the oven, Hermione suddenly stilled when she realised what she had just been thinking. It was just occurring to her that she was rapidly falling in love with Draco.


	18. Chapter 18

Saturday, June 22nd 6.00pm.

The man looked at the array of photos lying in front of him. Carefully he studied each one, trying to find a suitable victim. Picking up a picture of Granger in Flourish and Blotts, he smiled happily, he had found his victim.

Tidying away all the other pictures, he placed the chosen one in the centre of the table. The picture showed Granger chatting to the woman serving at the bookstore, both women's faces were clearly captured on the page.

Picking up a red marker pen, he drew a cross over the face of the woman who was talking with Granger. Reaching behind him for a plain brown envelope he slipped the photo inside but didn't seal it, he had another message to put in the envelope later. Using magic to disguise his handwriting, he wrote Granger's name on the front of the envelope.

Setting the envelope to one side, he started to plan his next attack. Thanks to Granger he now had his newest victim, Susan Bones. Now all he had to do was find out where she lived and he was good to go.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 6.30pm.

"I don't know about this, Gin." Harry told his wife. "Hermione was pretty upset earlier."

"All the more reason to go and visit her." Ginny insisted. "I've barely seen her since this all began. I need to check she's alright."

"Fine." Harry conceded. "But don't blame me if we interrupt something." He muttered under his breath.

"What would we interrupt?" Ginny said, before her eyes widened in understanding. "There's something going on with her and Malfoy."

"Yes. I caught them together this morning. I was just glad I wasn't five minutes later." Harry said, feeling embarrassed as he remembered events of the morning. "But don't tell Ron. The last thing I need right now is him causing trouble."

"Don't worry, I won't tell him." Ginny said. "Hermione deserves to be happy and I'm not planning on letting my idiot brother ruin that."

"Are you sure, we shouldn't send an owl first." Harry said, still unsure of just arriving at Hermione's house unexpectedly.

"No." Ginny tutted, dragging her husband to the fireplace. "Let's go."

Reluctantly Harry followed Ginny through the floo network, mentally preparing himself for catching Hermione in another compromising position with her blond bodyguard. When he arrived at Hermione's though he was in for a pleasant surprise. Ginny was already there, greeting Hermione and Draco was sitting on the sofa. Luckily they both parties looked fully clothed and unflustered, obviously his wife hadn't walked in on anything.

"Sorry for the unexpected visit. I said we should owl first." Harry told Hermione as he entered the room.

"That's fine, Harry." Hermione smiled. "You know you're both welcome to visit whenever you want."

"He was worried we might interrupt something." Ginny said innocently, hoping for a reaction. She got one as Hermione lowered her head and blushed furiously while Draco merely smirked at the implication.

"Do you two want a drink?" Hermione asked her friends trying to distract attention from herself. She indicated to the open bottle of wine that was sitting on the coffee table.

"Yes, please." Ginny smiled. She and Harry sat down while Hermione went to get two new wine glasses.

When Hermione came back to the front room, she poured both Harry and Ginny a glass of wine. After handing her friends their drinks she then returned to her own seat, next to Draco.

"Have you made any progress?" Hermione asked Harry. While she had wanted to be away from the case earlier she still needed to know what was happening.

"Unfortunately no." Harry sighed running a hand through his already unruly hair. "I feel awful for saying it, but we're no closer to catching this guy than we were on Monday."

"So you're getting nowhere." Draco said. He didn't say it in the scathing way in which he once might have, instead there only frustration evident in his voice.

"No. There were no useful witnesses regarding your mother's attack and no one saw anything at Hogwarts." Harry said, he shared Draco's frustration with the case going nowhere.

"Hopefully something useful will crop up tomorrow with Mrs Crabbe." Hermione said. She was aware she was clutching at straws.

"Maybe, but I don't think it will." Harry admitted. He was only seeing the woman on the off chance she had vital information. "I'm hoping we have more luck with Pansy Parkinson. My gut still says she's involved in this somehow."

"You think Pansy Parkinson is doing this?" Ginny asked, shocked. It was the first mention she had heard of the former Slytherin.

"No, I don't think she's doing this." Harry shook his head slowly as if thinking. "But she's involved, I know it. Her disappearance is far to coincidental."

Hermione and Ginny nodded wisely at Harry's hunch while Draco just looked sceptical. Both Hermione and Ginny had seen Harry solve seemingly impossible cases using his gut instinct, it was remarkably accurate and a feeling he always trusted.

"When's your mother coming out of hospital?" Ginny asked Draco in an attempt to change the subject before Harry got too frustrated with his inability to progress on the case.

"Tomorrow morning. We said we'll go and see her tomorrow afternoon once she's settled in." Draco answered Ginny, pleased Hermione's friends were treating him in a civil manner.

"What about Ryan? Will he stay with Molly and Arthur until you're finished at the Manor?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I was planning on picking him up tomorrow morning." Hermione said. She had been looking forward to seeing her son but was now unsure whether to put off picking him up until after they had visited the Manor.

"Why don't you take him with you to see Narcissa." Ginny said innocently.

"Ron would hate it. We've already had one fight about it." Hermione sighed.

"Screw my brother." Ginny exclaimed causing the other three to look at her in shock. "Ryan's your son, you can take him wherever you want. Besides he might have to get used to Ryan visiting the place." Ginny added a sly smile on her face.

"Ginny." Harry scolded as Hermione turned bright red.

"What, I'm just saying if Hermione and Draco are going to continue getting it on, Ron will have to cope with Ryan having new people in his life." Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders.

Harry looked appalled by his wife's bluntness, but it didn't seem to bother Draco who was chuckling quietly at the redhead's straight talking. Hermione on the other hand had her head buried in her hands in embarrassment.

"Sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Ginny said when she noticed her friend's reaction. "Not that you've got anything to be embarrassed about. Like I told you before, Malfoy's hot."

"Ginny!" Hermione and Harry yelled at the same time while Draco smirked at the compliment the red headed witch had just accidentally given him.

"Sorry." Ginny replied rolling her eyes. She looked anything but sorry, instead she had a devious smirk on her face. "Maybe it's time for me and Harry to leave."

"Yes, I think it is." Harry tutted at his wife as he stood up. "I'll call round tomorrow night to fill you in with what happens tomorrow with Mrs Crabbe." Harry told Hermione as he headed for the fireplace.

"Think about what I said Hermione. If you want to take Ryan with you to Malfoy Manor then do so, Ron will just have to cope." Ginny said, before she stepped into the green flames in the fireplace.

Harry followed his wife back to their house, their brief visit leaving Hermione with a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 8.30pm.

The man kept looking over his shoulder as he disabled the wards at Flourish and Blotts. He needed the address of Susan Bones and her workplace was the best place he could think of to find her information. Five minutes after starting to disable the wards, he entered the building via the back door.

Not knowing where he was supposed to look, the man headed to the back office. Being careful not to show too much light from his wand the man began to search though the papers on the desk. Annoyed he wasn't finding anything the man abandoned his search of the desk and headed to a nearby filing cabinet.

Putting his wand down on top of the cabinet the man was just about to open the drawer when the illuminated wall caught his eye. He had pointed his wand directly at the shop's work rota. Checking the rota the man smiled broadly at his luck, Susan was working tomorrow. Therefor he would just follow her from work instead of having to find her home.

Satisfied with his information the man left the shop and erected the wards again so no one would be able to notice his presence. As he apparated home, the man considered his good fortune. Now instead of spending the rest of the weekend searching for Susan Bones he could spend it trying to work out how to separate Granger from her annoying blond bodyguard.

* * *

Saturday, June 22nd 9.00pm.

Draco hovered outside Hermione's bedroom debating over whether he should knock or not. After Harry and Ginny's flying visit, Hermione had excused herself to take a bath and Draco hadn't seen her since. Deciding he wanted to know why Hermione had left in such a hurry Draco knocked on the door.

Draco was just wondering whether Hermione was planning on ignoring him when the door swung open to reveal Hermione standing in a long blue silky dressing gown. Without speaking Hermione opened the door wider for Draco to enter and headed back into her room. Draco followed Hermione into the room, shutting the door behind him.

When he turned round Draco found Hermione sitting on her bed with a pile of pillows propped up behind her, she had clearly just been sitting for some time.

"What's wrong? Why did you leave like that?" Draco asked, perching on the end of Hermione's bed.

"Sorry. I needed to think." Hermione said.

"About what Little Red said about taking Ryan to the Manor." Draco guessed. Hermione looked surprised that Draco had picked up on exactly what was bothering her. Either he was getting good at reading her or she was becoming predictable.

"Yes. Part of me thinks we should just take him tomorrow but another part of me thinks I shouldn't confuse him." Hermione sighed.

"How would taking him to the Manor confuse him?" Draco asked genuinely puzzled by Hermione's problem.

"He's already becoming attached to you. And I'm sure if we took him to the Manor that your mother would spoil him rotten. I don't want him becoming too attached to people he may never see again."

"And he might be becoming attached to people who are going to be in his life for a long time." Draco said, moving to sit beside Hermione.

"What happens when the case is over and you and Narcissa disappear from our lives?" Hermione said.

"Didn't I tell you this afternoon that I'm hoping for Ryan to know me as more than your bodyguard. How does that follow with me disappearing after the case?" Draco asked Hermione, moving her head so she was looking at him.

"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "I'm just being cautious. Once this is over you might realise everything's moved too quick and you don't really like me."

"It might be quick, but it's real." Draco said his grey eyes boring into Hermione's brown ones. "Protecting you isn't just a job to me anymore. I'm protecting you because I don't know what I'll do if anything happens to you."

"You don't have to say that." Hermione whispered as butterflies fluttered in her stomach at Draco's words.

"I know, I mean it." Draco said softly. "I can't guarantee we'll be together forever, no one can do that, but I can guarantee I'm not going anywhere in the near future."

"Promise." Hermione whispered, her lips inches from Draco's.

"Promise." Draco closed the small gap between their lips, and kissed Hermione softly.

As the kiss got more passionate, Draco's hand untied the sash on Hermione's dressing gown causing the material to fall open. Opening his eyes to look at Hermione, Draco let out a loud groan when he realised that Hermione was naked under her robe. Smirking at the blond, Hermione brought Draco's lips back to hers as she started to unfasten the buttons on his shirt.

Ten minutes later as the couple were making love, all thoughts of their earlier discussion had left their minds. The only thing either were concerned with was the ecstasy they felt as their bodies moved in perfect rhythm to each other's.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N - I would like to thank everyone for their support and I'm glad that people are enjoying the mix of crime and romance. This is just a short fluffy chapter before the action really kicks off in the coming chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 10.00am.

Hermione paced the floor in front of the fire as she waited for Draco to be ready to leave. They were heading to the Burrow to pick Ryan up, then after lunch they were heading to see Narcissa. After Draco had convinced her that he wasn't planning on going anywhere, Hermione had agreed to take her son to the Manor and let him meet Narcissa.

"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet if you keep pacing." Draco said, entering the room as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

Hermione turned round to look at Draco, his blond hair was still damp from the shower they had just finished taking together.

"Are you not going to dry your hair?" Hermione asked. She had dried her own hair using magic, making it a lot more manageable.

"No, I'll let it dry naturally. It goes all frizzy if I dry it using magic." Draco said as Hermione grinned at the idea of Draco having frizzy hair.

Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione's amusement and walked over to where she was standing by the fireplace.

"Let's go and get Ryan." He said, grabbing a handful of floo powder.

Hermione also grabbed a handful and the pair flooed to The Burrow.

The moment Hermione stepped out of the fire, Ryan came flying over to her and wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Hi, sweetheart. Have you had fun?" Hermione asked her son as Draco stepped out of the fire behind her.

"Yes. Teddy and Victorie came yesterday and we all played in the garden." Ryan said enthusiastically. "We were allowed to fly but only on the baby brooms, it was much better with Draco."

"Thanks, Ryan." Draco grinned at Hermione's son and ruffled his hair. "I'm going to tell Lee and Blaise they've got the rest of the weekend off." He told Hermione before leaving the front room.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked, surprised that not one of the Weasley's had made an appearance.

"Grandpa's in the shed and Grandma's in the kitchen." Ryan shrugged, not bothered by the lack of adults.

"I'll go and see your grandmother." Hermione said, starting to head towards the kitchen. She had barely taken two steps when Ryan stopped her.

"Mum, is Draco's mum still ill." Ryan asked.

"She's getting better. We're going to see her this afternoon so you have to be good." Hermione told her son.

"You're going to take Ryan to Malfoy Manor." A shocked voice sounded from the doorway. Hermione looked up to find Molly standing in the doorway looking totally gobsmacked.

"Yes." Hermione said, firmly. She had made her decision and wasn't planning on changing her mind.

"What's Malfoy Manor?" Ryan asked, curious as to where he was going.

"It's where Draco's mother lives." Hermione said to Ryan.

"Why does it have a fancy name?" Ryan asked, still curious about the mystery place he was visiting later.

"Because it's a very big house." Draco said, entering the room. "Come on Ryan let's go into the garden and I can tell you about it." Draco took hold of Ryan's hand and led the boy from the room, leaving Hermione and Molly alone to talk.

"Are you sure about taking Ryan to that place?" Molly asked once Ryan and Draco had left the room.

"Yes. I was there last week and Narcissa was really nice. Ryan will be fine, he'll love the garden." Hermione said, wishing she didn't feel the need to justify her actions to Molly.

"Ron won't like it." Molly said, carefully studying her ex daughter-in-law.

"I know, but it's not his choice." Hermione said. "It's mine."

"Is there a reason you're so set on taking Ryan to the Manor?" Molly asked. "It's not somewhere he's ever likely to go again, or is it?"

Hermione looked at her ex mother-in-law in surprise, obviously she had picked up on the fact that something was happening with her and Draco.

"Don't look so shocked, Hermione." Molly chuckled. "I'm not blind and Ginny is an awful gossip."

"Why aren't you mad?" Hermione asked, she had been expecting a bad reaction from Ron's family regarding her relationship with Draco.

"Why would I be?" Molly asked puzzled. "It's your life Hermione. It's nobody's business but yours who you choose to get involved with."

"I thought you might be worried about Ryan, and Draco being in his life." Hermione admitted her fear to the older woman. "I know Ron is."

"Ron's just jealous that Ryan could potentially have another important male presence in his life." Molly tried to reassure Hermione, although she wasn't entirely sure what her temperamental son's reaction would be when he discovered Hermione's new relationship. "And I'm not worried because Draco's obviously changed from the boy he once was, he seems to be good with Ryan. Ryan's done nothing but talk about him all day, he's clearly a fan."

"Thank you, Molly. It means a lot that you're supporting me." Hermione said, smiling at the red headed woman.

"You're family Hermione. We'll always support you." Molly said kindly. Hermione was pleased that Molly thought so much of her and gave the older woman a hug.

"Come on, let's go and get Ryan." Molly said, once the two women had parted. She was shocked that Hermione had appeared so surprised when she had called her family. Molly had always thought of Hermione as a second daughter and she thought the brunette witch was aware of how she felt, obviously she hadn't been clear enough but hopefully Hermione now knew how much she meant to both her and the rest of the family.

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 1.00pm.

Narcissa stood in the front parlour anxiously awaiting the arrival of her son. She had been thrilled when Draco had sent a message earlier that morning saying that Ryan would be accompanying him and Hermione. Narcissa hoped that the presence of Hermione's son meant that things had progressed with Draco and the pretty muggleborn witch.

At the sound of the floo network activating, Narcissa turned to see her son step out of the fire followed a few seconds later by Hermione and her son. Narcissa gave her son a peck on the cheek and turned her attention to Hermione and Ryan.

"It's lovely to see you again, Hermione." Narcissa smiled at the witch before turning her attention to the small boy by her side. "And this young man must be Ryan. Hello, I'm Narcissa."

"Hello. Are you Draco's mum?" Ryan asked the tall blonde woman.

"Yes." Narcissa nodded. "I thought we could go and spend the afternoon in the garden."

"Fine, but I need to talk with Ernie and Adrian first. I'll meet you out there." Draco said.

As Draco went to find his two members of staff, Narcissa led Hermione and Ryan into the garden. Ryan held onto Hermione's hand the entire time but his eyes were scanning the house, taking in the size of the Manor.

"Wow." Ryan exclaimed as they entered the large back garden. "Look mum, a maze." He pointed to the large structure in the distance.

"Would you like some ice cream, Ryan?" Narcissa asked as the three of them settled at the table.

"Yes please." Ryan said politely.

Narcissa smiled at the young boy's manners and summoned Pixie.

"Will you bring Ryan an ice cream sundae please." Narcissa said to her elf. "Do you want one Hermione?"

"No, thank you. I would love a cup of coffee though." Hermione said, watching as Ryan looked at the house elf in amazement.

Narcissa requested coffee for Hermione and Draco while she asked Pixie to bring a pot of earl grey tea for herself. When the elf returned, Ryan dug into his ice cream while the two women talked quietly. A few minutes after the drinks had arrived, Draco appeared and sat down next to Hermione.

"Is everything okay?" Narcissa asked, worried that there was a specific reason her son had sought out the men who were providing her with protection.

"Everything's fine." Draco reassured his mother.

While Ryan finished his ice cream the three adults spoke about the lack of progress on the case. When Ryan had finished he politely thanked Narcissa before his eyes started wandering around the large garden.

"Do you want to go and play?" Hermione asked her son. She had noticed him looking around the garden.

"Yes please." Ryan nodded, eager to explore.

"How about me and you go and look for some new animals for your zoo." Draco said to Ryan before Hermione had a chance to tell her son he was only allowed on the large expanse of grass.

"Yes." Ryan grinned while Hermione and Narcissa looked completely baffled.

"Marty." Draco summoned a house elf who was wearing a little suit. "Have you brought the supplies?" Draco asked the elf when he appeared at his side.

"Yes, Master Draco." Marty said, handing Draco a small box. Draco thanked the elf and he disappeared with a crack.

"Come on Ryan, let's go." Draco said, standing up and passing the box to the small boy. "You carry that so we can carry any animals we capture."

Ryan took the box off Draco and the two of them set off towards the pond chatting happily. Hermione and Narcissa sat in stunned silence watching as Draco and Ryan made their way across the lawn.

"What on earth was that?" Hermione asked, finding her voice.

"I have no idea." Narcissa exclaimed, watching as her son and Hermione's stopped at the edge of the pond.

"Is that a swan?" Hermione asked. In the distance she could see Draco and Ryan at the edge of the pond as a large white bird swam towards them.

"We don't have swans." Narcissa replied, puzzled.

The two women watched as Ryan reached out and touched the bird's head. The second he did so it disappeared. Hermione then saw Ryan lift the lid to the box Draco had given him and look inside. Whatever was in the box seemed to excite her son as he started jumping up and down with glee.

"Whatever they're doing they seem to be having fun." Narcissa said. She watched as Draco laughed at something Ryan had said and led him into the orchard.

"I'm sure Ryan will tell me all about it later." Hermione said, curious as to what was happening at the bottom of the garden.

"He seems a lovely boy. He's a credit to you." Narcissa said, returning to her tea.

"Thank you." Hermione said.

"He seems to have taken to Draco." Narcissa noted.

"He has, he thinks Draco's great." Hermione said, smiling. "It helps that Draco is so at ease with him. He would have been a great father."

Narcissa paused mid sip in shock, from the tone of Hermione's voice she knew about the baby.

"He told you about the baby." Narcissa said once she had recovered from her surprise. Hermione nodded in response. "I don't think he's ever told anyone before."

"He hasn't." Hermione said. "He said I'm the first person he's told."

"Did he talk about how it affected him?" Narcissa asked, hoping her son had finally decided to confide in someone. "He's always bottled it up. He wouldn't even talk to me."

"A bit. He's not the best at dealing with his emotions." Hermione said, hoping she didn't offend Narcissa.

"No, he's not." Narcissa sighed, she was relieved that Draco had found someone he felt he could talk to. "Lucius always told him that showing your emotions was weak. It's taken him a long time to move past what he was told and to learn how to let people in. He seems to have really opened up to you."

"He has." Hermione smiled, thinking about Draco. "But it's working both ways. I've told him things I've never told anyone else."

"Are things getting serious between the pair of you?" Narcissa asked, hoping she hadn't overstepped the mark.

"I think so. I just hope that because everything's happening so fast that it's real and it'll last." Hermione said.

"It doesn't matter how fast or slow feelings develop, if they're real they'll last." Narcissa said wisely. "Something tells me that what you and Draco have is real."

Hermione smiled, hoping the woman was right and that her and Draco had a real chance to have a future together. Hermione and Narcissa then spent the next hour talking and laughing like old friends until an excited Ryan returned with Draco.

* * *

**P.S - There will be an explanation to what Draco and Ryan were doing in the next chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

Sunday, June 23rd 4.00pm.

The man stood in the shadows watching as Flourish and Blotts shut for the night. Hopefully he could kill Susan quickly and get on with his plan for separating Granger and Malfoy. The idea of how to separate Granger from her bodyguard had occurred to him the previous day and he had spent the earlier part of today starting to set his plan into motion. He just hoped that Malfoy fell for his ruse and left Granger alone long enough for him to get to her.

Just after four, the door of the book shop opened and Susan stepped into Diagon Alley, waving goodbye to someone in the shop. Keeping in the shadows the man followed her as she made her way to the entrance via the Leaky Cauldron.

As Susan tapped out the pattern in the bricks causing the wall to open, the man moved to stand behind her. Susan looked around, shocked by someone's presence. The man smiled and indicated that he was wanting to enter the pub. Immediately relaxing Susan stepped forward and entered the back yard of the dingy wizarding pub. The moment Susan left Diagon Alley the man reached out and grabbed her arm, apparating away with her before anyone spotted them.

Arriving back in his basement the man threw Susan to the floor where he immediately stunned her. Susan could only lie watching helplessly as the man raised his wand and hit her with the killing curse. Once Susan was dead the man set about carving Granger's initials in her flesh. While the man didn't carve as many as he had on the last victim he still carved enough so that you saw the initials at a glance.

Satisfied with his work the man left the basement and the body. He would return when he was ready for Granger's final warning to be delivered in an hour or so.

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 5.30pm.

Hermione sat curled up on her sofa watching as Draco played with Ryan on the floor. They were currently playing with the new animals that Ryan had returned from Malfoy Manor with.

When Ryan and Draco had first returned from hunting animals, Ryan told Hermione they had captured animals using magic. Hermione was unsure of what her son meant but after sending Ryan to play on the lawn Draco had explained.

Draco had sent Marty to buy a set of magical animals, unlike muggle animal toys they actually moved and made noises. Draco then had Marty enchant the animals to grow to real size and put a spell on them so whenever Ryan touched them, they returned to their original form. Draco had then taken Ryan to the pond and into the orchard so they could hunt the animals.

Hermione had been rendered speechless by the fact that Draco had gone to so much effort to entertain her son. When Hermione had finally found her voice and thanked Draco, he had shrugged and pretended it was no big deal.

The sound of the floo network activating distracted Hermione from watching Draco play with her son. Hermione smiled when Harry stepped out of the fire and into the front room. Harry looked at the former Slytherin sprawled over Hermione's floor playing with Hermione's six year old son and grinned. While it was a sight he had never suspected to see he had a feeling it would soon be a common one.

"Hi Harry. Do you want a drink?" Hermione asked as her friend brushed himself off from travelling via floo powder.

"Coffee would be great." Harry smiled at Hermione before bending down to talk to his nephew. "What have you got here, Ry?"

"New animals. Look they move." Ryan pointed to where a lion was prowling around on the floor. "Me and Draco caught them today."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco not understanding what Ryan meant. Magic, the blond mouthed and Harry nodded in understanding. Leaving Ryan and Draco to continue playing, Harry stood and headed to the kitchen where Hermione was making coffee.

"Let's guess the meeting today was useless." Hermione said, handing Harry his coffee.

"Unfortunately. Mrs Crabbe was totally uninterested in the fact her first husband's in prison. She gave us the address of her sister-in-law though." Harry said, sitting down on a chair.

"Did that help?" Hermione asked, not really expecting any good news.

"No. I went and spoke to her, she wasn't bothered about her brother's imprisonment either." Harry shook his head dejectedly. "I really don't think either woman is part of this investigation."

"It was always a long shot." Hermione sighed, sinking into a chair opposite Harry at the table.

"We'll get there Hermione." Harry said, hating to see his best friend so upset.

"I hope so before more people are killed." Hermione said. She was feeling really guilty for the loss of lives that revolved around her.

Harry knew there was nothing he could say to make Hermione feel better so he changed the subject instead. "How did things go today?"

"Good. Ryan had fun." Hermione said. She was pleased she had taken Ryan to the Manor and introduced him to Narcissa.

"Will you be taking him back there?" Harry asked grinning mischievously.

"I don't know. Maybe." Hermione replied coyly. Harry smiled, pleased to see his friend happy.

Hermione was just starting to tell Harry about their visit to the Manor when a loud shrieking noise sounded once before abruptly stopping.

"What the hell was that?" Harry asked, pulling his wand out.

"I don't know." Hermione replied, looking nervous.

"It's the ward alert. One of the wards has been breached." Draco said as he strode into the room with Ryan in his arms.

"I'll go check it out. Stay her with Hermione and Ryan." Harry said.

"Where else am I going to go Potter?" Draco asked, moving to stand at Hermione's side. "It's the back ward at the bottom of the garden." He told Harry as the Auror opened the kitchen door.

"Let's go back into the front room." Draco told Hermione, who looked to be in shock.

Wrapping his arm around her waist he steered her away from the kitchen and into the front room. Once in the front room Draco sat Hermione on the sofa and sat down beside her, keeping Ryan wrapped in his arms.

"Mum what's wrong? Is the bad man coming for us?" Ryan asked sounding scared.

"No darling." Hermione reassured her son, his worry snapping her out of her shock.

Hermione reached for Ryan and took him from Draco and placed him on her lap where she wrapped her arms around him. Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her and Ryan against him as the three of them waited for Harry's return.

A few minutes later Harry returned. "I've reset the ward. You might want to check on it though." He told Draco and the blond man nodded.

"What was it Harry? What broke the ward?" Hermione asked, agitated.

"Ryan, why don't you play with your animals while I talk to your mum and Draco in the kitchen." Harry said to Ryan before heading to the kitchen.

Hermione reassured Ryan that everything was okay and the boy reluctantly got off his mother's knee and settled back with his toys. Once Ryan was on the floor Hermione and Draco headed into the kitchen to where Harry was waiting.

"What's going on Harry? What happened?" Hermione asked her friend as soon as she entered the room.

"I found this pinned to the tree in the yard." Harry said, throwing an envelope with Hermione's name written on it onto the table.

Hermione picked up the envelope slowly, her hands shaking slightly with fright. Draco moved so he was standing beside her, wrapping his arm protectively around her waist he gestured for her to open the envelope. Looking at Harry who nodded reassuringly the brunette opened the envelope. Reaching inside she pulled out a photograph, gasping in shock as she saw the picture.

"What is it?" Harry asked, moving so he was standing next to Hermione.

Hermione dropped the photo onto the table so all three of them could see it. The picture showed Hermione in Flourish and Blotts talking to Susan Bones. But the scary thing was the red cross over Susan's face.

"Do you know when this was taken?" Harry asked, looking at the picture and hoping he wasn't about to get another victim.

"Yesterday afternoon." Draco replied as Hermione was still looking at the photo in shock.

"I'll send someone to check on Susan, hopefully this is just a scare tactic." Harry said.

"You don't believe that. Susan is next." Hermione whispered. "If she isn't already dead."

Harry didn't really know what to say, Hermione was right he doubted that they would find Susan alive. Harry picked up the envelope and reached for the photo to put into the evidence log.

"There's something written on the back of the picture." Draco pointed out as Harry picked the picture up off the table.

Flipping the photo over Harry read the scrawled writing. "Blueberry Park."

Hermione inhaled sharply causing Draco and Harry to look at her expectantly. "Blueberry Park is only a couple of minutes away from where I grew up. It's the large park just round the corner from my parents old house." She explained.

"I need to get there now. Do you mind if I floo call Ron first?" Harry asked, heading into the front room.

"Of course. Harry, I want to know what you find." Hermione said, following her friend.

While Harry was calling Ron and arranging for his team to assemble at the park, Hermione took Ryan upstairs for his bath in an effort to take her mind off things.

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 6.30pm.

"Are you sure she was okay?" Ron asked for the third time since he had met Harry at the park.

"She's pretty shaken up. But she'll be okay, Draco's with her." Harry replied, not looking up from where he was examining the body.

Ron raised his eyebrows in shock when Harry used Draco's first name but didn't comment, instead he squatted down next to Harry.

"This is getting ridiculous. We've now got two victims in two days." Ron commented.

"He's stepping up a gear." Harry said, hoping his next target wasn't Hermione herself.

"How come Malfoy didn't see anyone following them yesterday?" Ron asked, still appalled by how Susan was chosen as victim. "I thought observation skills were a part of his job description."

"Come on Ron, be fair. You know as well as I do that there is any number of spells to help people go unnoticed." Harry said.

"I suppose." Ron muttered, standing up and looking around.

When Cho and Terry arrived on the scene, Harry and Ron left the pair of them to do their job while they went to inform Susan's family. They also planned on calling into Hermione's to confirm that they had found Susan's body in Blueberry Park.

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 7.15pm.

The man sat in the corner of the dingy pub, going completely unnoticed by the muggles around him. Looking at his watch, he tutted quietly, the man he was meeting was late and it was very annoying. He had already met the man once today to convince him to help him with his plans but he had required one final meeting to give him the necessary objects to obey his directions. The man also wanted to be sure his threat was still in place and he would be obeyed.

"Sorry, I'm late." A voice said, as a nervous looking man sat down opposite him.

"You're here now." The man said coldly. "This is everything you need for tomorrow." He pushed and envelope across the table to the man who had just arrived.

"I don't think I can do this." The second man mumbled. "What if I get caught."

"I suggest you don't." The man said. "You will do this. Remember I know where your entire family lives."

"Okay. I'll do it." The second man said sounding scared. Quickly he picked up the envelope and put it inside his jacket.

"Make sure you do. Or by this time tomorrow you'll have no family left." The man said, getting up and leaving his companion sitting trembling at the threat he had just delivered.

* * *

Sunday, June 23rd 10.40pm.

The man sat in the dark waiting for the front door to open. Soon everything would be in place and if all went well Granger would be in his possession tomorrow. The man heard the door unlock and held his breath, the final part of his plan was about to fall into his hands. Gripping his wand tightly, the man heard the footsteps heading his way. The moment the other person entered the room, the man stunned them causing them to fall to the floor, knocking over a table and lamp as they did.

Stepping around the prone body the man righted the table and lamp, he wanted to leave no sign that anyone other than the owner of the house had been present. Satisfied that his presence would go undetected, the man headed over to the stunned body. Grabbing onto the body he apparated back to his basement one final time.


	21. Chapter 21

Monday, June 24th 5.40am.

Hermione awoke with a scream, sitting bolt upright in bed she tried to remind herself it was only a dream, what she had just seen wasn't real. Unfortunately the images of all the people she loved lying dead wouldn't leave her, especially the sight of Ryan and Draco lying unmoving at her feet.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Hermione felt a warm hand on her back and turned to find Draco looking at her in concern.

"Yes, I just had a bad dream." Hermione said, wiping at the tears that were running down her face.

Draco pulled Hermione back down into the bed, positioning her so that she was curled up against him. Draco ran his hand through Hermione's thick hair trying to comfort the upset witch. Hermione snuggled closer to Draco letting his scent calm her down, she was incredibly pleased that the blond was in her bed rather than the spare room. Unlike Friday and Saturday night he hadn't been in her bed after a round of amazing sex, instead he had been there to comfort her after the previous night's events.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked when he thought Hermione had calmed down slightly.

"No." Hermione shook her head and buried herself closer into Draco's body. The last thing she wanted to do was relive her horrifying dream.

"Are you sure, it might help." Draco said.

Hermione lifted her head and looked at Draco. "I just want to forget about it."

As she spoke Hermione moved so she was straddling Draco's waist. When she leant down and started kissing him forcefully, her hand wandering over his torso, Draco wondered if he should stop her. All thoughts of stopping Hermione left Draco's head as her small hand travelled down his body and into his boxers. Draco leant his head back onto the pillow and moaned loudly as Hermione's hand got to work.

Sensing that Hermione wanted to be in control, Draco gave himself up to the feelings of having Hermione on top of him. As her hand was working down below, Hermione kissed and nipped at Draco's neck producing loud moaning noises from the blond.

When Hermione suddenly stopped with her attentions Draco groaned disappointedly and opened his eyes to see why she had stopped. Hermione grinned down at the blond and started to remove her pyjama top. Draco watched with lust filled eyes as Hermione removed her top and then wriggled out of her pyjama bottoms. Draco lifted his hips as Hermione removed his boxers leaving them both naked.

Hermione leant down and kissed Draco, who tangled his hand in her hair, pulling her closer to him. When Hermione sank down onto Draco, it produced moans of pleasure from the pair of them as they were joined together. When Hermione started to move it was agonisingly slow, Draco was eager for her to move faster but he let Hermione set the pace.

Draco let Hermione keep control over their lovemaking, only holding onto her hips to help her ride him easier. Hermione continued to move slowly and steadily only speeding up her actions when she felt her orgasm approaching. When Hermione's movements became more erratic, Draco brought his hand in-between their bodies to help Hermione reach her climax. When Hermione reached her peak she threw her head back, calling Draco's name. Hermione's climax triggered Draco's orgasm and the pair rode out their ecstasy together.

Hermione collapsed onto Draco, thankful that they had silenced the room the night before. Last night Draco had silenced the room so that Ryan wouldn't hear how upset Hermione was but now she was thankful that their moans of pleasure and shouts of ecstasy had been hidden from her son.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered to Draco, kissing him softly on the cheek.

Draco kissed Hermione on the forehead, he understood that she was thanking him for letting her have control. At the moment her whole life was entirely out of her control as she was being targeted by this killer so any small amount of control she could have was important to her.

Hermione rolled off Draco and repositioned herself so she was curled up by his side. Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and the pair of them drifted off back to sleep for another couple of hours.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 9.30am.

As Hermione sat at her desk, working on a case that was due in court later in the week, she could feel Draco keep stealing glances at her from across the room where he was sitting doing some work of his own. Hermione wasn't sure if the looks were to check she was okay or if he was watching her for some other reason.

Hermione looked up hoping to catch Draco looking in her direction, unfortunately for Hermione his blond head was bent over his work. She watched as he shook his head slightly at whatever he was reading and wrote something onto a separate piece of parchment.

Hermione watched Draco for a few minutes before he realised he was being observed and lifted his own head to look at Hermione. Hermione smiled at Draco who smirked back before the pair of them returned to their work.

Ten minutes later Hermione and Draco had still been working despite the odd lust filled look shared between them when a knock on Hermione's office sounded and Harry and Ron entered the room. Ron was carrying a stack of newspapers under his arm, causing Hermione to wonder what was written in them.

"I thought you might want to be brought up to date." Harry said to Hermione as him and Ron entered her office closing the door behind them.

"Thanks Harry. I would appreciate it." Hermione said.

Everyone headed over to the sofa and chairs in the corner where Draco was currently working. As Draco tidied his work, Hermione slipped onto the sofa next to him leaving the two chairs for Harry and Ron. Once everyone was seated Ron threw the papers he had been carrying onto the table.

"Have you seen today's papers?" Ron asked, gesturing to the pile on the table.

"No. I avoided them." Hermione admitted, eying up the papers on the table. "Is it bad?"

"They've all made the connection to you and wonder why you're being targeted." Harry said. "There's also a mention of Melinda's death in the Prophet."

"And a few of them already know about Susan, though they don't mention her name." Ron said, sounding angry. "The reporters turned up at the park about ten minutes after we did last night."

Hermione went pale, wondering what sort of rumours were being spread about her.

"We're going to have to issue some sort of statement before the rumours get out of hand. I've left a message for Theo to contact me when he arrives and we'll sort something out." Harry said, sighing and running his hand through his messy black hair.

"What about Susan when did he get her?" Hermione asked, trying to focus on the dead woman rather than worry about herself.

"We spoke to the owner of Flourish and Blotts, Susan left just after they shut yesterday but never arrived home." Ron said. "Another witness in Diagon Alley says he saw Susan head towards The Leaky Cauldron. He also said there was a man that followed her through the passageway into the pub's back yard. He has no idea what happened next, although we suspect the man was the killer and he kidnapped Susan right there."

"And a few hours later she was dead in the park." Hermione said quietly. "He's speeding up. Both with the time between victims and the time he has them and kills them."

"I know." Harry spoke just as quiet as Hermione had previously. Neither wanted to admit that it was a real possibility he would be coming after Hermione soon.

"Do you have any positive news?" Draco asked, not happy that Hermione was slipping into her melancholy state again.

"No. I spoke with Charlie last night and he swore he had never told anyone about Hermione taking piano lessons when she was younger so that's another dead end." Harry said, shaking his head with disappointment. "Michael's due back today so I'm hoping he has some news regarding Pansy."

"You still think she's involved?" Draco asked sceptically.

"Yes. I'm convinced of it." Harry said. "I only wish I could have personally looked into her disappearance but with all these killings I haven't had any free time."

"I'm sure Michael's doing a good job." Ron said, rolling his eyes. He thought that searching for Pansy was a waste of time and effort, in his opinion if the former Slytherin wanted to disappear then it was good news for everyone else.

A knock on the door disrupted the conversation and Kingsley walked into the room with a grim expression on his face.

"Oh god. Is there another victim?" Hermione asked the Minister for Magic.

"Kind of. This arrived in my office a few minutes ago from Azkaban." He said, handing Harry an envelope.

Harry opened the letter and started to read.

"Mr Shackelbolt, I regret to inform you that one of our inmates was found seriously ill this morning. We suspect he has been poisoned somehow. The prisoner is in the hospital wing but the effects of the poison have all but killed him and he won't survive the day. I will leave you to inform his family so they can arrange to make a final visit if they wish to do so. I have also enclosed a note we found in the prisoners cell as I suspect it is vital to an Auror investigation currently on-going." Harry read the letter out loud, leaving out the identity of the prisoner. He then reached into the envelope and pulled out another note like the one found on Narcissa.

After reading it, Harry placed the note onto the table so everyone could look. Hermione, Ron and Draco all sat forward to read the note although they all had a suspicion of its contents. This time the note read; I WARNED YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE GET TOO CLOSE TO GRANGER. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE FAIL TO HEED MY WARNINGS. GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN, GRANGER ONLY BRINGS DEATH AND MISERY TO THOSE SURROUNDING HER.

"Which prisoner was poisoned?" Ron was the first to speak asking an unnecessary question.

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron in total shock, appalled that he could be so insensitive while Draco snorted at Ron's ridiculous question.

"What?" Ron asked, not understanding why he was getting dirty looks from his two best friends.

"I think they're stunned that you could be so stupid as to have to ask the identity of the person involved." Draco said snappily to the redhead.

"The prisoner was Lucius Malfoy." Kingsley explained as Ron still looked confused.

"Sorry." Ron winced, suddenly understanding the looks Harry and Hermione had been throwing his way.

"Harry and Ron, you'll need to go and investigate." Kingsley told his two top Auror's before turning to Draco. "Do you wish me to inform your mother or would you rather do it."

"I'll do it later." Draco said.

"It might be too late later. From the sounds of things he hasn't got long to live. Wouldn't Narcissa want to see him." Kingsley said cautiously.

"No." Draco said shortly, not explaining himself.

"I'll be off then. I'll leave you to decide on the best course of action." Kingsley said, getting up and departing Hermione's office.

"Do you want to come with us and see your father?" Harry asked Draco.

"Why would I want to see that bastard." Draco spat, sounding angry. "I'm staying here to look after Hermione."

"I can get Terry to watch Hermione, she's perfectly safe in the Ministry." Harry said, trying to convince the blond to come with them.

"That sounds like a good idea, Harry." Hermione said. "Can you arrange it and Draco will meet the pair of you in the atrium in ten minutes."

Draco turned to glare at the witch beside him while Harry nodded and practically dragged Ron out of the room. Ron was unhappy with leaving his former wife alone with an angry looking ex Death Eater.

"What the hell, Granger?" Draco stormed as soon as they were alone. "There's no way I'm leaving you alone and there's no way I'm going to visit him."

"First of all, I'll be perfectly safe. Terry will be here and I have no plans to leave my office until you return." Hermione said forcefully.

"Even if I agree you'll be safe here, I'm still not going anywhere near my father." Draco said, distain dripping from his voice as he called Lucius his father.

"I know things are difficult between the two of you, but he's dying." Hermione said, placing a hand on Draco's arm hoping to calm the blond slightly. "You may not want to see him now, but if you don't go you'll regret it later."

Draco shook his head stubbornly, the last person he wanted to see was his cruel and vindictive father. "I don't think I can." He finally admitted.

"Why not?" Hermione asked, hoping she wasn't pushing Draco too far.

"Because he's the reason I've got this." Draco said, pulling his shirt sleeve back and revealing his faded Dark Mark. "He's the reason I witnessed things that still give me nightmares."

Hermione felt bad for pushing Draco, she thought his reluctance to go and see Lucius stemmed from his bad childhood and the fact that Lucius wasn't exactly a loving father. She had no idea that the memories of the war were still so fresh and painful for the former Slytherin.

"Maybe you need to see him so you can finally move on." Hermione said cautiously.

"Perhaps." Draco admitted after a long silence, recognising Hermione had a point. Maybe once he knew that Lucius was finally out of his and his mother's life he would be able to let go of the hatred he felt for the man he had once admired so much.

Hermione smiled slightly, pleased that Draco had listened to reason regarding Lucius.

"You have to promise me one thing though." Draco said. "You don't leave this room until I come back."

"I promise. I'll stay here and wait for you." Hermione said, reaching over and kissing Draco lightly on the lips.

Draco pulled Hermione closer to him and kissed her properly until they were interrupted by a knock on the door and Terry popping his head into the office. Satisfied Terry wouldn't let Hermione leave her office, Draco headed down to the atrium to meet Harry and Ron.


	22. Chapter 22

Monday, June 24th 10.30am.

Draco stood outside the dark foreboding walls of Azkaban prison summoning up the courage to enter the dreadful place. Located on its own personal island in the middle of the North Sea, Azkaban was one place that Draco had never wanted to visit again.

He had only been to the prison once before, the day after his father was sentenced to ten years incarcerated inside the building. When Lucius was first sent to Azkaban at the end of Draco's fifth year, Narcissa had deemed him too young to visit his father, much to Draco's relief. After the war however there was no escaping the visit he was forced to endure by his mother's side.

Narcissa had visited Lucius to tell him she no longer wanted anything to do with him, she had forced her husband to sign over the Manor and all his businesses to Draco. Draco had loathed every second he had spent in the dark, cold prison and he couldn't wait until the visit was over and he could leave. The second he apparated off the island, Draco vowed he would never return to the prison but unfortunately eight years later he found himself standing outside the building once again.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked, shivering slightly. The area surrounding the prison was filled with Dementors so the air was cold and depressing.

Draco nodded and the three men entered the cold prison. Draco was eager to get the visit over with so he could return to Hermione, he hadn't been keen to leave the brunette in the first place and all he wanted now was to return to her office to keep her safe and protected.

Stepping through the doors they encountered a reception desk with a grumpy looking man sitting behind it. Since the war and the Dementors part in it, the prison was run by actual wizards and the Dementors only stayed to keep the building protected and its inhabitants miserable.

"I'm Harry Potter from the Auror department and these are my two colleagues." Harry said to the man behind the desk, gesturing to Ron and Draco who were standing on either side of him. "We're here to see Governor Lucas."

"Take a seat." The man grunted before turning and exiting through a back door.

"Charming." Ron moaned as the trio sat down to await the arrival of the governor of the prison.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 10.50am.

Hermione finished what she was writing and shut the file she was working on, it was no good she couldn't concentrate as long as she was wondering how Draco was coping with seeing Lucius. Looking at the time she groaned, they had only been gone just over twenty minutes. She didn't even have Terry to talk to at the minute as the Auror had popped along to his office to get some files to work on.

Leaving her work on her desk, she headed over to the corner where Draco usually sat doing his own work. Sitting on the sofa where Draco usually sat, Hermione contemplated just how attached she had become to the former Slytherin in just a few days. He was rapidly becoming the most important person in her life after Ryan and Hermione was struggling to imagine her future without the platinum blond in it.

A few minutes after Hermione had settled onto the sofa her office door flew open and a ruffled looking Terry stood panting in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, leaping up from the sofa.

"Harry's just sent a message, it's Draco." Terry said, sounding slightly out of breath after running all the way from his office. "He's been attacked at the prison and it's not looking good."

"Oh god. We have to go, now." Hermione said, grabbing her bag. "Come on." She said to Terry as she rushed out the door.

Terry followed her and the two rushed down to the atrium as quickly as they could. As they ran through the Ministry Hermione kept telling herself it would be okay, she had just found Draco and there was no way she was losing him now.

"Hermione, you can't floo to Azkaban." Terry said as Hermione headed towards the Ministry fireplaces. "We have to apparate."

"Sorry, I forgot." Hermione replied flustered, she was far too worried about Draco to remember how to travel to the depressing wizarding prison.

"You're in no state to apparate alone." Terry said as they arrived at the apparition point in the Ministry. "We'll do side along."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled at Terry and offered him her arm.

Terry smiled back at the witch and grabbed onto her arm. Before Hermione realised that anything untoward was happening, Terry pointed his wand at Hermione and stunned her. Because he was holding her he could make sure the witch remained upright as not to cause suspicion. A second after stunning Hermione, Terry apparated away with her. Anyone watching wouldn't realise that Hermione was unconscious, they would think they had apparated away together as they had just rushed through the Ministry together.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 11.00am.

"This is bloody ridiculous." Draco moaned as he continued to pace the floor of the prison's reception area.

Ron muttered his agreement, he hated to agree with the blond but this time he had a point. They had been waiting nearly half an hour for the governor to see them and every time they enquired about him they were told he was on his way down to see them. The sound of a door opening off to the side had the three men turning round in anticipation.

"Finally." Ron muttered as a distinguished looking man in his fifties appeared from the door way.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Gentlemen." The man said politely. "I'm Governor Lucas."

"Harry Potter." Harry said, shaking the man's hand. "This is Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy."

Governor Lucas shook both Ron and Draco's hand before turning back to Harry. "What can I help you with, Mr Potter?" He asked the famous wizard.

"We've come about Lucius Malfoy." Harry said, shocked the man hadn't immediately realised why they were visiting the prison.

"What about him? Surely it's too early for his release?" Governor Lucas asked, unsure of why the Auror's were in his prison.

"We've come about the letter you sent to the Minister of Magic." Harry said, confused by what was happening. "The one in which you informed him of Lucius Malfoy's condition."

"I'm sorry Mr Potter, I think there's been some sort of mix up. I haven't wrote to the Minister and as far as I know Mr Malfoy is in perfectly fine condition."

"You mean you didn't send this?" Harry asked, handing the letter Kingsley had given him to the prison Governor.

Governor Lucas read the letter and shook his head. "No, I didn't send this. It didn't come from Azkaban."

"It came to the Minister's office with an Azkaban owl." Ron said, joining in the conversation.

"I'll look into it but I assure you, I didn't write this letter and Mr Malfoy is not dying." Governor Lucas said in a firm tone. "You can see for yourself if you wish."

Harry nodded, not sure what to say and Governor Lucas went to the reception to make arrangements for the visitors to see Lucius Malfoy.

"I don't understand. What's going on?" Ron said, puzzled. "What's to gain by sending us on a wild goose chase to Azkaban."

"Shit!" Draco suddenly swore loudly, a panicked look coming over his face. "Hermione."

Draco didn't wait for his word to sink into Hermione's two friends, instead he ran outside and apparated straight back to the Ministry. Harry and Ron caught on immediately and were seconds behind the blond as they ran back to check on Hermione.

Arriving in the atrium of the Ministry, Draco ran full speed towards Hermione's office. Ignoring the slow moving elevators he headed straight for the stairs, Harry and Ron following him closely. Together the three ran up to second floor and headed for Hermione's office, ignoring the surprised looks of the people they passed on the way. Rushing past the pool of secretary's they burst into Hermione's office finding it empty.

"She's not here." Ron pointed out the obvious as the three of them ground to a halt in the office.

"Maybe there's an innocent explanation." Harry said, not quite believing it.

"There's not." Draco replied. "She promised to stay here."

"I'll go and ask around, come on Ron." Harry dragged his friend out of the room, leaving Draco standing alone in the middle of Hermione's office.

Once alone Draco looked around the office, hoping to find something that would explain Hermione's absence. When he could find nothing out of place, Draco started wondering how the killer managed to lure her away from her office, breaking her promise to him. The only thing that Draco could think of was Ryan, Hermione would leave without a second thought if she thought her son was in danger.

Thinking he knew how the killer got to Hermione, Draco started towards the door so he could go and tell Harry. Before he reached the door, Harry burst back into the office.

"Ryan." Draco said urgently. "That's the only way the killer could have gotten to her. He must have sent a message that he was hurt or in trouble."

"He didn't." Harry shook his head. "One of the secretaries saw Terry rush in here. She heard him tell Hermione that you were hurt and a few seconds later they left together."

"So someone sent a false message to Terry." Draco said, annoyed that someone had used his relationship with Hermione to hurt her.

"No, the secretary said Terry told Hermione the message came from me." Harry said. "In the Auror department we use our patronus to deliver messages." Harry wondered if Draco would understand what he was saying or if he would fail to get the significance.

"That way you always know if a message is genuine as you can't copy a patronus." Draco said, understanding immediately. "Terry lied. There was no message."

"No, there can't have been. He would have known the message wasn't real if it wasn't delivered by my patronus." Harry said, not liking what was developing.

"I don't understand, why would Terry take Hermione." Draco said.

"I don't know but we need to find Ron and pay a visit to Terry's house. We might find some answers there." Harry said.

At that moment Ron burst into the office, completely out of breath. "Terry… Hermione… apparate." He gasped out before stopping to try and get his breath back.

"We know Ron." Harry said to his friend. "She left with Terry. Come on we need to visit his house."

* * *

Monday, June 24th 11.15am.

Hermione slowly started to come back to consciousness. At first she wondered where she was and what was happening but then she suddenly remembered Terry rushing into her office and telling her Draco was hurt. At the thought of Draco being in trouble Hermione's eyes shot open.

Trying to move Hermione found she was bound to a small bed in the corner of a medium sized room. The room was pretty bare, the only other furniture apart from the bed was a wardrobe. Hermione looked out of the window on the other side of the room, she could see the clear blue sky and the green of the countryside.

Sinking back onto the bed Hermione realised the worst had happened, the killer had gotten hold of her. Hermione was just unsure if Terry was the killer or if he was helping someone, either way he had to be involved seen as he was the one who had kidnapped her from the Ministry.

As Hermione was debating over Terry's involvement the door to the small bedroom opened and Terry walked into the room. Hermione looked at him unsure of what to say, she had trusted him and never had any reason to suspect him.

"Why? What have I ever done to you, Terry?" Hermione finally asked.

Terry just laughed and sat down at the bottom of the bed. Hermione was angry with his response and was just about to yell when his face started moving slightly and his features began to alter. Hermione stared in shock realising what was happening, the man sitting with her wasn't Terry at all he was someone else using polyjuice potion.

Hermione gasped when the potion wore off and the killer was revealed to her. While she didn't know the man well, he had always been polite to her and seemed nice enough.

"Why?" Hermione asked, unsure what she had ever done to the man in front of her.

"It's simple, really. You destroyed my life. Because of you the woman I love is going to die." The man said, hatred evident in his voice. "You've got a life, a son. But before long you won't have either because you'll be dead."

"Who is she?" Hermione asked, still confused by the man's hatred for her.

Instead of answering the man laughed cruelly and raised his wand. "Crucio." He cried with force. He would kill the witch soon, but first he wanted her to suffer.

Hermione screamed loudly as the excruciating pain racked her body. As she was writhing in agony, Hermione heard the man utter a name under his breath. When the pain became too much to bear, Hermione passed out. Her last conscious thought was that Harry was right, Pansy was involved in the case, in fact she was the entire reason for the killing spree.


	23. Chapter 23

Monday, June 24th 11.30am.

"There's nothing here." Ron sighed. "There's no indication as to why he's doing this?"

Harry, Ron and Draco were currently searching Terry's flat for evidence, so far they were drawing a blank. All three men were throwing themselves into the investigation so they didn't have to cope with Hermione's disappearance.

"I would have expected to find something." Harry said, looking around the room. "But there's nothing. Everything seems normal."

"Where was Terry when you called him yesterday, Weasley?" Draco's voice sounded from the kitchen.

"What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?" Ron snapped. He was unhappy with the blond's participation in the hunt for Hermione but Harry had insisted that he was already involved so he had a right to help.

"When Potter called you yesterday night from Hermione's he asked you to call Terry and Cho." Draco said, appearing in the doorway. "I just want to know if Terry was here."

"Yes, he was here." Ron said.

"He was making dinner wasn't he?" Draco questioned.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked, suddenly suspicious of the blond. When Terry had answered his floo he was wearing an apron and carrying a kitchen knife.

Draco gestured for Harry and Ron to follow him to the kitchen, where they found a half made lasagne sitting on the bench.

"So he didn't finish making his dinner." Ron said, unimpressed with what they were looking at. "He probably rushed straight to the crime scene."

"I'm sure he did, but why not clean up when he returned later last night or even this morning." Draco pointed out, trying not to snap at the redhead.

The only way Draco was keeping it together and not falling apart over Hermione's disappearance was by concentrating on helping Harry find her and Ron's aggressive attitude towards him wasn't helping his mood. Draco had tried to hide behind his cool and collected façade that had served him so well as a teenager but since the war he had learnt to let his guard down so he was finding it difficult to regain the unaffected look he had once been able to do so well.

"Maybe he couldn't be bothered or didn't have time." Ron said, shrugging his shoulder.

"No Draco's right." Harry said, thinking about Terry. "You know how neat and organised Terry is. There's no way he would leave his kitchen in this state. He would have tidied up last night or this morning before work."

"What are you saying, Harry?" Ron asked.

"He's saying that it wasn't Terry that took Hermione." Draco said snappily, wondering if Hermione's ex had any brains or if Harry did all the work in their partnership. "Terry's probably been held captive somewhere."

"You don't know that. Terry could be the killer." Both Harry and Draco shot Ron a look, surely he wasn't that deluded. "Okay, you're probably right." He conceded.

"We left her with the killer. I knew I shouldn't have left her." Draco said, sounding frustrated.

"We didn't know, Draco." Harry said, feeling sorry for the blond. Draco looked totally devastated by the realisation that the killer had been masquerading as Terry and they had handed Hermione to him on a platter.

"I still shouldn't have left her, it's all my fault." Draco said, running his hands through his hair and sighing loudly.

"It's not your fault." Harry said to Draco.

He wanted Draco to stay focused on finding Hermione and to not blame himself for something he had no control over. He was aware that helping with the case was the only thing stopping Draco thinking too much about what was happening to Hermione, a feeling he shared with the blond. Ron scowled at Harry and Draco, he had no idea why the Slytherin was so cut up about Hermione's disappearance or why Harry felt the need to reassure him he had done nothing wrong.

"I was supposed to be protecting her." Draco said, quietly. "I promised her she'd be safe."

"Then you shouldn't have left her. Why did you anyway? You were dead against seeing your father, what changed?" Ron accused Draco, taking his anger at Hermione's disappearance out on the former Slytherin.

"Ron, that's enough. You would have done the same thing in Malfoy's shoes." Harry scolded his friend. While he had wondered himself what Hermione had said to change Draco's mind he didn't think now was the time to ask.

Ron scowled and looked like he was going to say more but Harry silenced him with a stare. Harry then turned back to the brooding blond, he needed him focused if they were going to find Hermione.

"Draco, it wasn't your fault. We all thought she would be safe, even Hermione herself." Harry said to the blond. "You have to stop blaming yourself. We need to focus on finding Hermione."

"You're right, Harry. Thanks." Draco said nodding at the Auror. He had noticed the former Gryffindor had started to use his first name and decided it was time he returned the gesture.

"Since we've decided that Terry was an imposter shouldn't we be getting back to the Ministry." Ron huffed, not happy that his best friend seemed to be making a connection with the former Slytherin whom they used to hate.

"Yes and someone needs to return to Azkaban to find out who sent that owl." Harry said as the three headed towards the fire place.

Following Harry back to the Ministry Ron couldn't help but sigh, he could almost guarantee that Harry would send him back to the prison.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 11.45am.

"What do we do now?" Draco asked Harry.

The pair of them were sitting in Harry's office after returning from Terry's house. Ron had just left to return to Azkaban to find out about the letter that had lured them away from Hermione.

Before Harry could respond there was a knock on the door and Michael walked into Harry's office.

"You're back. Did you have any luck?" Harry asked. He was pleased to focus on something fresh, rather than dwell on what could possibly be happening to his friend.

"Yes, I found her." Michael said, sitting down on a chair next to Draco.

"Great." The blond drawled, unimpressed. "But we have more important things to worry about than Pansy."

"I heard about, Hermione." Michael said.

Harry had tried to keep Hermione's disappearance secret but with all the running about the Ministry it was hard to do so. Before they left for Terry's he had sent a message to Molly telling her what had happened and asking her to take Ryan and his bodyguards back to The Burrow and stay there until they had some news.

"Harry, I know you've been saying that Pansy's connected to the case." Michael said, determined to share what he had found. "I think you might be right."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked Michael before shaking his head at Draco who looked like he was going to protest to Michael speaking.

"After hours of searching I finally found some sort of record of Pansy. Three months ago Pansy was admitted to a magical hospital just outside of Dublin. She'd tried to kill herself using some sort of potion." Michael explained. "She must have got her measurements mixed up because she didn't take enough of the potion to kill herself. She just ended up in a coma."

"So Pansy's in hospital in Dublin." Draco said, failing to see the significance.

"No. A few days after she was admitted to the hospital she was transferred to a private clinic in Devon." Michael said. "When I got in touch with the clinic they wouldn't give me any details. But the nurse I spoke with did reveal that the treatment was being paid for by Pansy's brother."

"Pansy doesn't have a brother, she's an only child." Draco said, suddenly understanding why Michael was so keen to give his information.

"Exactly." Michael said, trying not to sound too smug.

"Then who's the mystery man paying for her care?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. But here's the address of the clinic." Michael passed a piece of parchment to Harry before standing up. "Is there anything else you need me for?"

"Yes, Terry's missing we think he's been kidnapped so the killer could steal his identity. Could you try and find out if he was taken last night or this morning." Harry said, looking at the parchment in his hand.

"Sure, good luck." Michael said, exiting the office.

"I think we need to go and visit this clinic. I'd bet you anything the killer is the one paying for Pansy's care." Harry said.

"How can you be so sure?" Draco asked.

"It's a gut instinct, I can't explain it." Harry shrugged. "I've always felt that Pansy was connected to the case, and this mystery man is the connection."

Draco looked at the Auror, trying to decide whether or not to argue any more. He was highly sceptical of Harry's so called gut instinct, but Hermione had told him it was accurate and that it had served Harry well over the years.

"Fine, I'll trust your instinct." Draco said, choosing to believe what Hermione had told him about her friend. "I just hope you're right."

"So do I." Harry sighed, standing up. He was aware that they needed to find Hermione as quickly as possible if she was going to survive her ordeal. "I'll not be long, I just need to go and update Kingsley then we can go."

Harry left Draco all alone and for the first time since discovering Hermione was missing the blond had time to think. All morning he had been concentrating on helping Harry and following the clues, meaning he was able to distract himself from wondering what Hermione was going through. But left all alone in Harry's office Draco couldn't help but wonder if Hermione was okay or if she was even still alive. The thought of Hermione being dead caused Draco pain, he really had no idea what he would do if anything had happened to Hermione.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 12.05pm.

Ron sat in Governor Lucas' office awaiting the next prison officer to arrive for a grilling. So far he had been having no luck, but he hadn't been at it very long. Looking at the clock, he wished the next man would hurry up. The long delay was forcing him to think about Hermione and what he would do if anything happened to her. He had no idea what he would say to Ryan later, hopefully by then Hermione would be found and everything would be alright, so he wouldn't have to explain anything to his son. He hated to think of the alternative outcome.

The moment the next man walked in Ron perked up, the man looked worried and he was fidgeting like crazy.

"Take a seat. I just want to ask a few questions." Ron said, observing the man closely as he sat down. "What's your name?"

"F...F...Foster, Jack Foster." The man stuttered out.

"Were you well paid for sending the letter this morning?" Ron asked, hoping to confuse the man into confessing.

"No, I mean I know nothing about any letter." The man said, stumbling over his answer.

"I know you sent the letter. Tell me what you know and I'll see about a lenient punishment." Ron said.

"I know nothing." The man cried.

"Liar." Ron shouted, the stress and worry of Hermione being missing starting to show in his actions. "Because of you one of my best friends is missing. I swear if anything happens to her I'll make sure that you'll spend the rest of your life rotting in this place."

The man looked horrified at the prospect of spending the rest of his life in Azkaban. Three years working in the prison was enough to make him detest the place and he knew exactly how a stay within the dark walls could break a man.

"Fine. Yesterday morning I got a picture of my little girl pushed through the door. There was a message on the back, a time and meeting place." The guard said. "When I arrived there was a man, he said if I didn't send a letter to the Minister of Magic this morning he would kill my little girl and the rest of my family."

"So you agreed?" Ron asked.

"I didn't have a choice." The guard said defensively. "We met again last night and he gave me the letter. All I had to do was post it sometime this morning and my family would be safe."

"What did the man look like?" Ron asked, he was satisfied the man was telling the truth.

"I'm not sure, both times he arranged to meet in a dark pub and he was wearing a cloak so I couldn't see his features."

"You must have noticed something, anything." Ron said. He was disappointed that their first lead was proving useless.

"Not really. It was definitely a man, not too old." The guard said, thinking back to the meeting he had endured with the man. "I can't remember anything else about him, sorry."

"Fine, I'll arrange for you to be escorted to the Ministry where you can give your statement." Ron sighed, annoyed that he was no further forward then when he arrived.

"What'll happen to me?" The guard asked, worried about being sent to Azkaban as an inmate.

"Not much, possibly a caution." Ron said. "The fact you were being threatened and that you admitted what you did and tried to assist us will count in your favour."

"So I won't end up in here?"

"No." Ron said, standing up. "Stay here. I'll be back for you shortly."

Ron left the room to inform Governor Lucas of his findings before he returned to the Ministry with the guard in tow.

* * *

**A/N - The killer's identity will be revealed in the next chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

Monday, June 24th 12.15pm.

Draco looked around the clinic's reception area as Harry spoke to the witch on the front desk. The place looked very expensive and Draco guessed it must cost a fair amount of money if you were a patient.

"Malfoy." Harry called attracting the blond's attention. "We're going to see the manager."

Draco and Harry followed the witch as she led them down a corridor and knocked on a door at the far end. A gruff voice called for them to enter so Draco and Harry went into the room, shutting the door behind them. Sitting behind a large oak desk was a fat man in his sixties with half rimmed spectacles, grey hair and a short beard

"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy. I'm Healer Johnson, the manager of the clinic. How may we help you." The man said, introducing himself and offering the two men seats opposite his desk.

"We've come about a patient in your care, Pansy Parkinson." Harry said.

"I'm afraid I can't discuss a patient without either their consent or some sort of legal order." Healer Johnson replied.

Harry reached into his cloak and pulled out a document and handed it to the healer. At Draco's confused look Harry mouthed 'Kingsley' explaining to the blond how he had gotten the appropriate paperwork.

"This all seems in order." Healer Johnson said, placing the document on his desk. "What do you wish to know?"

"We're mainly interested in the man paying for her care." Harry said. "But we would also appreciate it if you could tell us anything about how Miss Parkinson came to be here." He added for Draco's sake.

While Draco had never mentioned being concerned for Pansy, Harry knew the two were once close and he thought that the former Slytherin might want details on Pansy's condition.

"Miss Parkinson is here because she tried to kill herself. The potion she used is widely used in hospitals, it has different effects in different doses and if mixed with other various potions. Mixed with a certain other potion in the right amounts, the potion offers immediate death." Healer Johnson explained.

"Is that what Pansy tried to do?" Harry asked.

"We believe so, but she either took the wrong amount of the potion or mixed it incorrectly causing her to fall into a coma."

"She always was hopeless at Potions." Draco said quietly.

"Will she ever regain consciousness?" Harry asked the healer.

"No." Healer Johnson shook his head. "While the potion didn't cause instantaneous death, it caused her organs to start shutting down. She's only being kept alive by magic."

"If it's that bad, why is she still being kept alive?" Harry asked, wincing at how callous he sounded.

"Her brother, who is the one paying for her treatment. He spent the first few months after she was admitted searching for a cure." Healer Johnson said, wondering what the look was about the two men shared at the mention of Miss Parkinson's brother. "But a month ago she developed an infection and she is now brain dead. We're just waiting for her brother to decide he's ready to let her go."

"Pansy Parkinson doesn't have a brother." Harry told the Healer who looked shocked by the news. "What can you tell us about the man who claims to be Miss Parkinson's brother."

"Not a lot, I'm afraid." Healer Johnson said. "We know him as Mr Parkinson, he comes to visit quite often I believe. He pays the bill every month in cash."

"So you don't have any details for him?" Harry asked. He was disappointed when the healer shook his head.

"Can you describe him?" Draco asked, hoping he might know who the man was from a description.

"Not really. He's average height and has brown hair." Healer Johnson said, wishing he could be more help. "Maybe one of the nurses could help."

"That would be great." Harry said and the healer left the room in search of a nurse that might be able to help them.

Harry and Draco sat in silence, both men lost in their own thoughts. A few minutes after leaving Healer Johnson returned with a petite blonde woman trailing behind him.

"This is Miss Noble, she's one of our best nurses. I've told her who you're asking about." Healer Johnson said, sitting back down at his desk.

"I'm afraid I can't help any more with the description, Mr Parkinson's a pretty nondescript man." The nurse said, perching on the edge of a chair.

"Did he ever talk to the nurses much? Maybe he revealed something about himself?" Harry asked, string to think they had come to another dead end.

"The only things he ever said were hello and goodbye." The nurse shrugged. "He did talk to his sister a lot, though."

"Can you remember anything he talked about?" Harry asked eagerly.

"In the last month, since Pansy's infection, he's spoke about putting things right for her. A couple of times I've heard him say he'll let her go once his plan is over and he's gotten justice for her." The nurse said. "I'm not sure what that means though."

"We have an idea." Draco said darkly.

"What about before last month? What did he talk about then?" Harry asked the witch desperate for some information he could use.

"It seemed to mainly be about the future, things they could do, places they could visit. A few times he spoke about school and the old days but it was mainly plans for the future."

"What did he say about school?" Draco asked, wondering if the killer knew Pansy at Hogwarts. Chances were if they were friendly at school the killer was a Slytherin as Pansy didn't have friends from any of the other houses.

"Not a lot. It was mainly stuff like remember when this happened in a certain class and such." The nurse said, trying hard to remember anything significant.

"Thank you, Miss Noble." Harry said. The nurse obviously couldn't remember anything of any use.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help." The nurse said before walking to the door. "Wait there was something." She turned back to face the room again.

Harry and Draco immediately looked at the woman hoping whatever she remembered was significant.

"Normally when he was talking about plans for the future, he would say they would escape to the country. But this one time he mentioned The Lake District. He said something about even though there were plenty of muggles around, his house was so far into the wilderness that it didn't matter. I hope that helps."

"It helps a great deal, thank you." Harry said a genuine smile breaking out on his face as they found their first solid piece of evidence towards the killer's identity.

After the nurse had left, Harry thanked Healer Johnson for his time and together with a pensive looking Draco he headed back to the reception area.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked the blond as they prepared to enter the fireplace.

"No, I think I know the killer." Draco said.

"What? Who is it?" Harry shouted, surprised that Draco had mentioned something earlier.

"I don't know who it is, if I did I would have told you straight away." The blond snapped at Harry. "Let's get back to your office."

Harry wanted to say more but the dark look on Draco's face had him holding his tongue.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 12.45pm.

When Harry and Draco entered Harry's office they found Ron sitting waiting for them.

"You're back. I've sorted out who sent the owl. It was a guard who was being threatened." Ron told Harry as soon as he set foot in the door.

"Good." Harry said. He then proceeded to tell Ron everything they had just discovered, but he left out Draco's confession just before they returned to the Ministry.

While Ron and Harry were discussing their mornings work Draco sat in a chair and put his head in his hands. He knew the killer was a Slytherin, he just couldn't pinpoint which one and it was bugging the life out of him. Looking up he found Harry looking at him expectantly.

"The killer's a former Slytherin." Draco said.

"You know who the killer is and you're just saying so now." Ron roared, attempting to lunge at the blond, he was only stopped by Harry holding onto his arm.

"Ron stop it and let Draco explain." Harry told Ron, forcing him to sit down in a nearby chair.

"As I was saying the killer's a former Slytherin. When the nurse mentioned the house in The Lake District, I knew I'd heard someone mention having a house there before." Draco explained. "I thought about it and realised it came up during a discussion in the Slytherin common room, about which families had the most properties and the most expensive ones."

"So who was it?" Harry asked, getting impatient.

"That's the thing, I can't remember. I wasn't actually taking part in the discussion much, it was just occurring around me." Draco shook his head, annoyed with himself. "I've been thinking and I've realised the discussion took place during sixth year."

"So, what difference does it make what year it happened in." Ron snapped, standing and moving closer to where Draco was sitting.

"In case you don't remember, I was a mess in sixth year. I had much bigger things to worry about than who had the best bloody houses." Draco shouted at Ron, standing up so they were inches apart.

"Stop it both of you. At least we have somewhere to begin." Harry said, stepping in between the two men. "We can search the list of properties owned by former Slytherins."

"Harry, that'll take days. We don't have that long." Ron said, getting exasperated at his friend.

"What about a pensieve?" Harry and Ron turned to look at Draco, not understanding his question. "The memory's in my head, I just can't remember the finer details."

"That's genius." Harry exclaimed. "I'll go and sort one out."

Harry rushed out the door leaving Draco and Ron alone for the first time since they re-met a week ago. Ron glared at the blond before turning and leaving the room, muttering about paperwork. Draco shook his head at Ron's actions and sat back down in his chair, thoughts of Hermione running through his head.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 1.15pm.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked Draco and Ron who were standing on either side of him.

Both men nodded and Harry bent his head over the pensive, with Draco's memory in it, he had set up on his desk. Harry fully emerged himself in the memory, falling into the Slytherin common room. Brushing himself off he looked around as Ron and Draco arrived beside him a few seconds later.

"Now we watch." Harry said, taking in the scene. The Slytherin common room looked exactly as it had when him and Ron had been in it during second year.

The three men looked at the group of Slytherin's sitting by the fire, it looked like everyone in their year was present and a few whose identities Harry and Ron were unsure of.

Draco visibly winced when he caught sight of his sixth year self, he had deliberately tried to forget how much stress he had been under and the toll it had taken on his appearance. His past self was much thinner and paler, his eyes were sunken with dark circles underneath and his entire appearance was generally messy as he hadn't cared enough to take the time to look his usual immaculate self.

Sixth year Draco was sitting on a chair, staring into the fire, he looked to be paying no attention to the conversation or to Pansy who was sitting beside him. The other Slytherins seemed to be discussing their houses and who had the most possessions.

"This is just a bunch of people bragging about how much they have." Ron said, disgusted by the conversation.

"Welcome to the Slytherin common room." Draco said. "Any public conversation usually involved showing off by someone."

"Were there no real conversation of genuine friendship?" Harry asked.

"Yes, lots. But the common room was a place to brag or gossip about other houses." Draco shrugged, trying to pay attention to the conversation.

The three men watched and listened as the topic got onto properties their families owned. When the topic of who had the most properties and the most expensive ones, they paid close attention.

"I'm not sure why we're even doing this, it's pointless." Sixth year Pansy said, as she rubbed her hand down sixth year Draco's arm. "Everyone knows the Malfoy's have the most properties and are by far the richest."

"Fine, we'll leave Draco's family out of this as no one can compete with them." Sixth year Blaise tutted. "I'll start we have three, all worth over a million."

Ron's eyes widened with shock at the prices the Slytherin males were throwing around. He had no idea so many of them were so rich.

"Most of the prices are lies." Draco said to the shocked redhead. "The only one who's telling the truth about the value of the properties is Blaise. His mother is filthy rich."

"How rich?" Harry asked. He was also shocked by the obscene amounts of money the Slytherins were talking about.

"Not Malfoy rich, but rich." Draco shrugged, turning back to the conversation.

The conversation had left the money stage and they were discussing locations of their properties. Sixth year Blaise was currently mocking a fifth year for having a house near to a muggle community.

"Just because it's near muggles doesn't mean anything, Blaise." Sixth year Theo was saying. "My family has a house in The Lake District and…"

None of the three men heard the rest of Theo's sentence as they all turned to look at each other in shock. Their killer was Theo Nott, now they had to find him and rescue Hermione.


	25. Chapter 25

Monday, June 24th 1.45pm.

Harry and Draco were pacing the floor by the fireplaces in the Atrium of the Ministry. Ron had gone to find Theo's home address and the three men were planning on flooing to his home to see if they could either find the former Slytherin or find some clues as to where he was or why he was doing what he was doing.

Draco had been shocked by the identity of the killer, he had never once considered that Theo could be the guy they were looking for. Draco had never been particularly close to Theo in school, they had been housemates and acquaintances at the most. Since school Draco only ever saw Theo occasionally, usually when he was having a drink with Greg or Blaise. Despite not knowing Theo very well, Draco would never had thought he was capable of the type of violence he had shown the previous week.

Draco was also still puzzled by Theo's reason for the killing spree and why he would pay for Pansy's medical care. Draco could never remember Theo and Pansy being particularly close and while he didn't see Theo very often since school when he did he had never mentioned Pansy. None of their mutual friends had ever mentioned Theo's involvement with Pansy either.

"I've got it." Ron came rushing over to them, slightly out of breath. "I also asked Cho to find the address of any other properties the Nott family own."

"Let's go." Harry said. "Everyone be prepared."

Harry headed into the fire and disappeared, Draco and Ron followed close behind him. They knew as soon as they arrived that the house was abandoned, it had an empty feeling to it.

"Ron you search the kitchen, Draco search in here." Harry said, pointing and gesturing as he spoke. "I'll look upstairs."

The three men split up and started searching the house for any clues as to why Theo was doing what he was doing and where he could have taken Hermione.

Draco searched the front room but everything he found seemed completely normal and unsuspicious. Opening a drawer in a corner cabinet, Draco began searching through the stacks of paper and letters. Most of the letters seemed to be from Theo's father who was currently a prisoner in Azkaban, the letters not from Theo's father were from some cousin of his in Sweden. There wasn't anything to do with Pansy in the drawer.

Throwing the letters to one side, Draco came across a pile of tickets for various Quidditch matches. Some were years old, dating back to when Theo was a child but some were recent. Draco suddenly spotted a ticket for a Puddlemere United game, and remembered about how Oliver's body was discovered earlier in the week. How had Theo attended the game without them realising it?

"Have you found anything?" Harry asked, entering the room and noticing that Draco was staring at something in his hand.

"Quidditch tickets." Draco said, turning round to face Harry. "How did he attend the match on Tuesday night without us picking up on it?"

Harry thought for a bit looking puzzled. "I have no idea." He admitted.

"Maybe Weasley can tell us, he was the one dealing with the list of people at the game." Draco said snappily. He was getting extremely anxious about Hermione and her idiot of an ex was the perfect person to bear the brunt of his frustrations.

"Ron." Harry shouted to his friend. "Come in here."

"Have you found anything?" Ron asked as he entered the front room. "I found these envelopes. They match the one sent to Hermione."

"Why didn't we know that Theo was at the Quidditch match on Tuesday?" Draco snapped at the redhead.

Ron bit his lip sheepishly and started to stutter an explanation.

"You knew he was there? What the hell happened Ron?" Harry asked, annoyed with his friend.

"When I ran the check on people associated with Death Eaters, Nott's name came up but I dismissed him because he worked for the ministry." Ron explained. "Hell, he was actually working with us."

"So you never spoke to him about Tuesday night?" Harry asked.

"I did, actually. When I went to see Goyle his alibi was Nott." Ron said sheepishly. "I went to see him to confirm Goyle's alibi."

"So you actually spoke to him." Draco sneered, unimpressed with Ron. "Nice detective skills you've got there."

"It's not my fault." Ron snapped back at the blond. "You never mentioned there was anything off about him, and you're supposed to be his friend."

"I'm an acquaintance of his, that's all." Draco said. "We've never really been friends, not in school and certainly not since school."

"Enough." Harry called. "It's unfortunate that we didn't pick up on Nott's involvement earlier, but we all would have don't the same thing in Ron's place. You assume that someone working for the Ministry is clean."

Draco snorted, not entirely convinced of Harry's reasoning. Personally he thought that Ron had failed to do his job properly. Ron heard the snort and glared at the blond daring him to say anything more on the subject. When Draco kept quiet, just shooting the redhead a dirty look, Ron turned back to Harry trying to refocus on the reason they were standing in Theo's house.

"Now that's all sorted, should we continue with the search." Ron said. He was unhappy at the way he had being turned on by his best friend. "We still have the basement to search."

"I'll do that, you can finish in the kitchen." Harry told Ron. Harry knew that Ron was mad at him but he didn't have time to deal with his friends attitude right now.

Ron glared at Draco before he headed back into the kitchen, making an awful racket once he entered the room. Harry exchanged a look with Draco before he headed off to the basement door to search underneath the house. Left alone again in the front room, Draco continued with his fruitless search for answers.

Harry had only been gone a few minutes when his voice called up from the basement. "Ron, Draco. Get down here."

Ron and Draco arrived at the basement door at the same time. Draco stepped back to allow the redhead to go first as it was clear that Ron wasn't planning on giving way. Not bothering to thank the blond Ron headed down the stairs with Draco trailing close behind him. They rushed down the stairs as quickly as possible in order to find out what Harry was shouting about.

They soon found out what Harry wanted them to see when they arrived in the basement. Harry was bending over a chained up Terry in the corner of the room. Ron and Draco immediately rushed over to where Terry was being held prisoner. While Harry and Ron checked their colleague for any serious injuries, Draco set about releasing him from his shackles.

"Do you feel up for telling us what happened?" Harry asked once Terry was free.

"Yes, but could we please go upstairs." Terry said. "I need some water and this basement is the last place I want to be."

"Of course." Harry said.

Harry, Ron and Draco helped Terry up and together they headed up into the main part of the house. Once Terry was settled in the kitchen with a glass of water, Harry once again asked Terry to explain what happened.

"The last thing I remember was returning home from the Ministry. It was late because of the time we found the body. I distinctly remember entering the house, but I don't know what happened then." Terry explained. "The next thing I knew I was waking up chained to the wall in the basement. I have no idea who took me or why?"

"Theo Nott was the one who took you, this is his house." Harry said, filling Terry in on what they had found out. "He took you so he could steal your identity and get to Hermione."

"What do you mean get to Hermione?" Terry asked. "Please say he hasn't taken her?"

The devastated looks on all three men's faces told Terry that it was exactly what had happened. Harry nodded gently rather than answer Terry's question with words.

Terry digested what Harry had told him and tried to come to terms with the news of Hermione's abduction. "Why is he doing this?"

"We're not sure. It's got something to do with Pansy Parkinson, but we're not sure what." Harry explained. "My best guess is he's in love with her and somehow blames Hermione for everything that's happened to her."

"Our resident Slytherin hasn't been useful with details of Nott and Parkinson's relationship." Ron said, once again sniping at Draco.

"As I've said before, Weasley, I've never been aware of any relationship between Pansy and Theo." Draco snapped back.

"Right now the reason doesn't matter, I'm sure we'll find out later." Harry said, once again stopping the pair from bickering. "What's important now is finding Hermione. It's time we headed back to the Ministry to see what Cho's got for us."

"I Just hope she doesn't have too many addresses for us to search." Ron moaned as the group started to head towards the fireplace.

"If she does, then we'll start at the one in the Lake District." Harry said, before stepping into the flames.

One by one everyone followed Harry back to the Ministry. Once in the Atrium they headed up to the Auror department to find Cho. Once Cho had given Harry the list of Addresses for properties owned by the Nott's, she left to take Terry to St. Mungo's.

"Right we've got an address, let's go." Harry said, finding an address for a house just outside Ambleside. "We need to check the nearest apparition point to the property."

As the three men sorted out where they were headed to they all prayed that when they arrived they found Hermione and that she would still be alive.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 2.15pm.

Theo sat in his back yard, looking at the worn photo in his hand. The photo showed a teenage Pansy Parkinson, from when they were still at Hogwarts. The picture had been taken sometime in fifth year one afternoon when the Slytherins had been enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Originally the picture had Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini on as well but he had cut his two former classmates off the picture so it showed only Pansy.

Theo had been in love with Pansy as long as he could remember but in school she only had eyes for Malfoy. It drove Theo crazy the way she would hang on every word the blond uttered even when he had made it perfectly clear he had no real romantic interest in Pansy.

Theo had attempted to ask Pansy out if fourth year, he was just plucking up the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball when Malfoy had arrived in the common room and told Pansy she would be attending the ball with him. Theo had been disgusted with the way Malfoy had just ordered her around but it didn't seem to bother Pansy as she was delighted to be attending the ball with the ice cold blond. Theo attended the ball mainly to watch Pansy all night. Watching the girl he loved he was appalled to see that Malfoy wasn't paying her the slightest bit of attention, instead the all the blond's focus was on Granger the entire night.

Theo had hoped that once school was over and her relationship with Malfoy was dead that he might stand a chance with Pansy but the dark haired witch made it clear she only wanted to be friends. While he was disappointed he couldn't have more with Pansy he settled into being her friend, he was just happy to be part of her life.

Despite the romance he desperately wished for, Theo was perfectly happy being Pansy's friend until everything went wrong, until Granger reappeared and destroyed Pansy's life.

Shaking his head of thoughts of the past, Theo put the photo down on the table and checked the time. He had been checking on Granger frequently since he had revealed his identity to her. So far the brunette witch had failed to regain consciousness but it was time she did so now. Theo wasn't bothered if she was already awake or if he would have to wake her using magic, either way it was time for her to face up to what she had done to Pansy and pay for it.

* * *

**A/N - There is two more chapters and an epilogue to come in this story. Hopefully I can get them up quickly so the story will be finished within the next few days.**


	26. Chapter 26

Monday, June 24th 2.25pm.

"Could you not have found a closer apparition point, Harry?" Ron grumbled as he followed Harry and Draco along the narrow country road.

He was lagging slightly behind the other two as they were walking so fast he was struggling to keep up.

"No, this was the nearest one." Harry said impatiently. "We are in a muggle area you know."

"I know. I just didn't realise we would have to walk so far." Ron moaned.

"For god's sake, Weasley will you stop complaining and shut the hell up." Draco said, throwing the redhead a glare over his shoulder.

Ron glared back at Draco but stopped complaining out loud, instead he just started muttering under his breath.

"I have no idea how you put up with him." Draco muttered quietly to Harry.

"You get used to it." Harry said.

"I hope not, I'm planning on having as little to do with him as possible after this." Draco said.

"Does that mean you and Hermione aren't serious?" Harry asked sounding surprised, he had gotten the impression that Hermione and Draco's relationship was the real thing.

"Yes, we're serious. At least I hope we are." Draco said, trying not to think about the possibility he might have already lost the brunette witch.

"If you are serious then you'll have to deal with Ron." Harry said, wisely. "Like it or not he's a part of Hermione's life and he always will be."

"I know, I was just hoping to leave Hermione to deal with him." Draco admitted.

Harry chuckled softly. "Coward."

"I never said I wasn't." Draco said, smiling slightly.

"What are you two talking about?" Ron's voice interrupted the bonding session going on between the two former enemies.

"Nothing." Harry said, shaking his head at the jealousness in Ron's voice. "We think we could be nearly there."

"Let's get moving then." Ron said, suddenly speeding up and barging in between Harry and Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes at the back of Ron's head and together with Harry set off after the redhead.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 2.30pm.

Hermione lay on the bed, completely still, not daring to open her eyes until she was sure she was alone. She had first woken hours ago but faked being unconscious every time she heard Theo approaching the room she was being held captive in. Hermione knew that eventually he would force her to wake and chances were he would kill her, so she was trying to stay alive as long as possible giving Draco a chance to find her.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Hermione shut her eyes once again pretending to be unconscious. When Theo entered the room she expected him to stay for a few minutes and then leave, like he had been doing. Instead Hermione could still feel him watching her after nearly five minutes in the room and she couldn't help the quickening of her heart in panic.

"I know you're awake. Either you open your eyes or I'll make you open them." Theo said, standing by the side of the bed. "You have two minutes."

Hermione lay thinking for a while, she knew that it would be easier to just give in as she didn't want to endure the pain he would undoubtedly inflict upon her while forcing her to open her eyes. Reluctantly Hermione opened her eyes to find Theo watching her intently.

"Good. This is going to be much more fun with you awake." Theo said, smirking at the terrified witch lying incapacitated on the bed.

Hermione sat up and moved so she was as far away from Theo as she could manage to get on the small bed with the magical restraints he had on her.

"You could at least do me the courtesy of explaining why you're doing this." Hermione spat. She was both genuinely curious and trying to stall for time as well.

"I'm doing this because you destroyed the life of the woman I love." Theo said. He knew Granger was playing for time but he wanted her to know what her actions had caused. "Because of you, Pansy is dying."

"I don't understand. How am I responsible for whatever's happening to Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione shook her head, confused as to what Theo was talking about.

"You destroyed her life. You sent her father to prison leaving Pansy and her mother with no money." Theo hissed, pacing the floor. "After her mother died she couldn't cope, so she tried to take her own life."

"I'm sorry. But it wasn't my fault Pansy's father ended up in Azkaban." Hermione insisted.

"Of course it was, you prosecuted him. You could have given him a deal and saved the expense of a trial. Pansy told me how she went to you and begged you to be lenient and avoid a trial. She also told me how you callously refused." Theo said, getting more and more angry as he spoke.

"I couldn't give him a deal. He had been on the run for six years." Hermione said. She could remember the day that Pansy had come to her office crying and begging for her to help her father. Hermione had felt really bad at the time for not being in a position to be able to help the devastated witch.

"It wasn't fair. Pansy's father was sentenced to life imprisonment while scum like Lucius Malfoy gets off lightly. Do you have any idea what sort of monster Malfoy is, Pansy's father did nothing for the Death Eaters compared to that bastard."

"I know, but Lucius Malfoy gave himself up after the war. He didn't participate in the final battle and he gave vital information to the Aurors." Hermione said, trying to make Theo see sense. "Pansy's father may not have been as involved but he ran. He ran for six years and when he was caught he would offer no information on the few remaining Death Eaters."

"You still could have avoided a trial. It was the cost of the trial that broke Pansy and her mother, without that they could have stayed in this country. She could have stayed with me."

Hermione felt sorry for Theo as the man ranted at her, he was clearly blinded by his love for Pansy and was blaming her for something she had no control over.

"I couldn't have avoided a trial, Mr Parkinson wanted to fight the charges against him. The only way to have avoided a trial was for him to plead guilty and take the sentence given to him." Hermione said.

"What sort of a choice is that." Theo sneered. "Plead guilty and spend the rest of your life in Azkaban."

"That was always what was going to happen the moment he chose to run. It wouldn't have mattered who was prosecuting his case, the result would have been the same."

"Well then, it's very unfortunate for you that you were the one that handled the case and ignored Pansy's pleas for help." Theo said, pulling his knife from his pocket.

Hermione's eyes widened in fear at the sight of the knife that had been used to carve horrifying messages into bodies and stab Narcissa. Theo slowly stalked towards the bed but he stopped when he got to the edge of the mattress. Pulling his wand out, he used magic to make Hermione's body lie flat against the mattress. Hermione tried to struggle against the magic that was holding her down as Theo climbed onto the bed and sat on top of her.

"Do you have any idea, what it took for Pansy to come to you, begging for help?" Theo asked, looking down at the witch below him.

"It must have been terrible for her having to ask a mudblood for help." Hermione spat, losing her temper and deciding it was time to fight back. "Such a blow to her pure blood pride."

Theo laughed darkly. "It was. If it was anyone else it wouldn't have bothered her, but it wasn't. It was you. The high and mighty Gryffindor Princess who spent years looking down her nose at us Slytherins."

"I did no such thing." Hermione retorted angrily. "It was the Slytherin's who thought that I was below them."

"That was part of the problem, well at least it was for Pansy." Theo laughed again, sounding more unhinged by the minute. "There was one particular Slytherin who defiantly thought of you below him."

"I don't understand." Hermione was totally confused by Theo's crazy ramblings.

"Malfoy." Theo spat, his opinion of the blond evident as he spoke his name with scorn. "Despite being with Pansy, he wanted you. Their first time together, he called out your name. That's why Pansy found it so difficult to come and beg you for her father's freedom."

Hermione was stunned by what Theo had told her, she was now wondering how long Draco had actually liked her. The only problem was she wasn't totally convinced the psychotic Slytherin on top of her was telling the truth, she would have to ask Draco, if she survived that was.

"That shut you up." Theo laughed. "Now it's time to do so permanently."

Hermione tried to struggle as Theo raised the knife and started to bring it down towards her throat. All there was left to do was scream and hope that there was someone nearby to save. Hermione opened her mouth and started to scream with all her might, praying that someone heard her. She only managed to get out a couple of screams before Theo slapped her round the face, causing blood to rush from her nose and mouth. Smirking at the sight of a bloody, messed up Granger, Theo once again advanced with the knife. Unlike his other victims he planned on killing Granger slowly and painfully.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 2.40pm.

Draco, Harry and Ron stopped briefly once they reached the edge of the house's boundary line.

"What are we waiting for, let's go." Ron said, starting to move towards the house. He was stopped in his tracks by a hand on his arm.

"Don't." Draco said, holding onto Ron to stop him going any further. "We need to check for any security wards."

"I know, I'm not stupid." Ron said, pulling his arm from Draco's firm grip. He wasn't about to admit he had nearly just walked over the boundary line without thinking to the former Slytherin.

Draco tutted and rolled his eyes at Ron as he got out his wand and started to examine the security on the property.

"Why is he doing the security checks?" Ron turned to Harry. "We're both capable of checking the wards."

"I know, but Draco's an expert in security. We might as well use his expertise to our advantage. I'm sure he can get through the wards ten times quicker than us." Harry told his friend.

As Ron continued to moan quietly to Harry, Draco ignored the redhead and carried on breaking the wards so they could enter undetected.

"We can go." Draco said a couple of minutes later.

"That was quick, are you sure it's safe?" Ron questioned. Theo had already proved himself to be very clever this week and Ron was sceptical that anyone could get past his wards so easily.

"Yes, the wards were only partially activated. Theo's gotten cocky, he doesn't think we know who is he so he obviously didn't take his time to set the wards up properly." Draco said, before turning and walking towards the house. "See it's perfectly safe." He called back.

Harry and Ron quickly caught up with Draco and within a few minutes they had reached the back garden.

"Look, the back doors open." Harry pointed out the open door to Draco and Ron.

As the three men headed to the door they walked past the table Theo had been sitting at earlier. On the table they found the photo of Pansy which stopped them in their tracks for a little while before they continued to head into the house.

"Where do we look first?" Ron whispered as they stood in the kitchen.

A blood curdling scream quickly followed by a second one echoed from upstairs answering Ron's question. Draco had taken off in a run as soon as he heard the noise while it took both Harry and Ron slightly longer to respond so they were slightly behind the blond as he flew up the stairs.

Arriving at the top of the stairs, Draco was faced with three doors. Instinctively he headed for the door furthest away from the stairs and blasted the door of its hinges. Bursting into the room he took in the scene and reacted immediately. Theo was sitting on top of a bleeding Hermione with a knife at her throat. Seeing red at the sight of Theo hurting Hermione, Draco raised his wand and blasted the former Slytherin across the room, not caring if he broke any bones or seriously injured him as he crashed into the wall with some force.

Leaving Theo for Harry and Ron to deal with Draco rushed over to the bed and freed Hermione from her invisible bindings. As Draco was freeing Hermione, Harry and Ron rushed into the room and headed towards Theo who was trying hopelessly to get up off the floor.

The second Hermione was free she launched herself into Draco's arms, sobbing as he held her and stroked her hair. Having Hermione in his arms again, Draco vowed that he would never let her go again. She was his and she belonged with him, the same way he was hers and belonged with her.

It didn't take long for Harry and Ron to subdue Theo as Draco had broken his arm and his leg by throwing him into the wall. Once they had him in handcuffs ready to take to the hospital and then onto the Ministry where they would question him extensively, Harry and Ron turned to check on Hermione. Harry smiled at the sight of his friend wrapped up in Draco's arms as the Slytherin spoke quietly to her. Ron on the other hand looked appalled by how close his ex was to their former enemy.

"What's going on?" Ron asked Harry.

"Leave it Ron. Now's not the time." Harry said. "We need to get both Hermione and Nott to the hospital, then we need to get him back to the Ministry."

Harry conjured a stretcher for Theo and together him and Ron levitated him onto it, accidently bumping him against the wall and floor as they did so. Harry and Ron both had to levitate the stretcher as it was too heavy for one of them to manage alone. With one more glance to Hermione who was still sitting wrapped in Draco's arms, Harry and Ron prepared to apparate to St Mungo's with Theo. Apparating wasn't ideal but the house wasn't connected to the floo network and it was too much hassle to connect it.

"See you at the hospital." Harry said to Draco, who nodded at Harry before returning his attention back to Hermione.

Ron looked at his ex-wife one more time, still confused by her closeness to Draco, before he and Harry apparated to St Mungo's.

"We should be going as well." Draco said to Hermione once they were alone.

"Thank you, for coming to rescue me." Hermione said quietly, lifting her head from where it had been buried in Draco's chest.

"I'll always be there to rescue you, Hermione." Draco said.

Hermione smiled, too drained by events to be able to think of anything to say. Draco pulled Hermione back against him and lifted her into his arms. Carrying Hermione close to his body, Draco apparated them to St Mungo's for Hermione to get checked over.

* * *

**A/N - There will be more details about Theo and Pansy in the next chapter before the Epilogue which is set six months later.**


	27. Chapter 27

Monday, June 24th 4.00pm.

Hermione woke slowly, letting Draco's scent comfort her as she remembered the horrors of the day. She knew she was still in hospital even though her injuries were superficial and not serious. The healer who had treated her insisted she rest for a few hours before she could go home.

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" Draco asked as Hermione began to move slightly.

"Fine." Hermione said, sitting up in bed. Draco was sitting beside her on the bed and she had obviously been sleeping curled up next to him. "Where is everyone?" She asked, looking around the room.

Not long after she had arrived at the hospital both Harry and Ron had come to check on her. When she had settled down to sleep both of her friends had been in the room.

"Harry and Weasley headed back to work, they said they'd call by once you were home to fill us in on what's happening." Draco said.

Hermione smiled as Draco referred to Harry using his first name, obviously the two men had buried their differences. Hermione noted that Draco still failed to use Ron's first name but she suspected it would be a while before that was ever likely to happen. Judging from the dirty looks Ron was throwing in Draco's direction before she went to sleep, Hermione doubted that her ex approved of her relationship with Draco.

"Has anyone checked on Ryan?" Does he know what's happened? Is he okay?" Hermione had plenty more questions about her son but Draco stopped her.

"Ryan's fine. I'm not sure what he knows but Molly will be bringing him in to see you soon." Draco said as he started to get off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Hermione held onto Draco's arm, she was afraid that the blond was now planning on leaving.

"I was just going to sit in the chair. I figured with Ryan coming it was best I wasn't with you on the bed." Draco explained.

"Stay, please." Hermione pulled on Draco's arm and he settled back onto the bed beside her. "I don't mid telling Ryan as long as you're not going anywhere."

"I'm definitely not going anywhere." Draco said sincerely. After the day he had just endured he knew that he wanted Hermione to be a part of his life forever.

Hermione smiled and snuggled into Draco as they waited for Molly to bring Ryan in to see her. They didn't have to wait long as less than ten minutes after Hermione woke up, Molly entered the room holding onto Ryan's hand. Both Draco and Hermione were surprised when Narcissa entered the room just behind Molly.

"Mother what are you doing here?" Draco asked, shocked by Narcissa's presence.

"When I found out what happened, I went to see Mrs Weasley to find out if there'd been any news and she kindly let me wait with her and Ryan." Narcissa explained.

Both Draco and Hermione smiled at Molly, pleased that she hadn't turned Narcissa away and had been polite to the blonde woman.

"Hermione, it's nice to see you're recovering." Molly smiled sitting down and letting go of Ryan. Narcissa sat down on the seat next to Molly.

"Mum, are you okay?" Ryan asked as he ran towards the bed.

Hermione knew that she didn't look her best. She had a split lip and was getting the beginning of a black eye from where Theo had hit her, luckily her nose had been fixed. She also had several shallow cuts on her throat where Theo had held the knife to her throat and threatened to slit it.

"I'm fine baby, come here." Hermione held her arms out to Ryan and he climbed onto the bed, snuggling into Hermione.

"Did the bad man hurt you?" Ryan asked, looking up at Hermione.

"A bit, but I'm fine now." Hermione reassured her son.

"Did Draco save you?" Ryan asked, looking at the blond who still had his arm around Hermione.

"Yes. He was brilliant." Hermione said, laughing lightly at the blush that appeared on Draco's pale cheeks.

"Does this mean he'll be leaving now?" Ryan asked, looking disappointed at the thought.

Draco, Narcissa and Molly looked towards Hermione, wondering how she would answer Ryan's question.

"No. Draco will still be a part of our lives, if that's alright with you." Hermione said. She was unsure of what to say to Ryan as she had never had to introduce him to a boyfriend before.

"That's good. I like Draco." Ryan said, turning and smiling at Draco.

"Good, I like you too, Ryan." Draco said ruffling the small boy's light brown hair.

"So are you mum's boyfriend now?" Ryan said, studying Draco closely.

"Yes, I suppose so." Draco told the small boy.

"Will you be kissing?" Ryan asked. "Teddy says that's what grown up's do."

Hermione, Narcissa and Molly laughed at Ryan's interrogation while Draco looked totally shocked and unsure of how to respond to the six year old.

"Will you be getting married?" Ryan carried on questioning Draco, unconcerned by the fact that Draco had failed to answer his previous question. "Will you be giving me another brother or sister? I've got a little sister but I wouldn't mind a brother."

"Ryan, I think that's enough questions." Molly told her grandson as she could see that Draco was unsure of how to respond to the never ending supply of questions.

"Fine." Ryan huffed. "But I still want answers." He said to Draco before he settled back down next to Hermione.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, each wondering how the other one would have answered Ryan's questions. Molly and Narcissa exchanged a sly smile as they watched the couple, both women were pretty sure that all the answers to Ryan's questions were yes.

"When are you getting out of the hospital?" Molly asked Hermione.

"Hopefully sometime tonight." Hermione said. "We're just waiting for the healer to come and see me."

"Why don't me and Narcissa take Ryan back to yours and give him his tea?" Molly asked. She had deliberately included Narcissa in the plans because she fully expected the blonde woman to become a regular part of her grandson's life.

"That would be great, thank you." Hermione said. "Both of you."

"It's no problem." Narcissa said with a smile. "Come on Ryan."

Narcissa helped Ryan off the bed after he had given Hermione one final kiss and together with Molly they left Hermione and Draco to wait for the healer.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 5.30pm.

When Harry and Ron finally arrived at Hermione's they were exhausted by the day's events, but they had promised their best friend an update. Flooing into Hermione's front room the duo found Hermione and Draco sitting curled up on the sofa looking very cosy, while an enquiry from Ron revealed that Ryan was upstairs playing in his room. As Hermione greeted her friends, Ron kept shooting her and Draco looks but didn't comment on their closeness until they were all settled.

"How long have you two being… whatever?" Ron said, crinkling his nose in disgust as he spoke.

"Not long after the case started." Hermione said.

"Is it serious?" Ron asked, though he thought he knew the answer to his question. If he was being honest with himself he knew that Hermione was happy, far happier than she had ever been with him.

"Yes." Hermione said with a smile. "I hope this isn't going to be a problem."

"It's not. I can't say I'm thrilled with your choice, but I want you to be happy." Ron said.

"Thank you, Ron." Hermione was pleased her ex wasn't going to cause problems, it would make things easier for Ryan.

"Now that's all sorted, I'll fill you in on what happened this afternoon." Harry said. "After Nott was out of surgery we spoke to him, but he's not saying much."

"Hopefully he was in too much pain." Draco snarled, he was still angry at what he had done to Hermione.

"He was a bit uncomfortable." Ron grinned at the thought. "A couple of broken limbs does that to a person."

Draco and Ron shared a smile at the pain that Draco had inflicted on the killer who had spent the week tormenting Hermione and murdering innocent people.

"Unfortunately though he was mainly rambling." Harry said. "The healer thinks he may have had a psychotic breakdown."

"Does that mean he won't be punished?" Draco asked, appalled at the thought that the former Slytherin could get away with what he had done over the course of the week.

"No, it just means he might not be able to stand trial. No matter what he'll be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban." Harry said.

"Good." Draco said and Ron nodded in agreement, finally having the same opinion as Draco on something.

"Do you know why he's done all this?" Hermione asked. "I know he blamed me for Pansy's father going to prison, which led to her downfall according to him. But how did he end up so attached to her?"

"When we searched his home in the Lake District, we found lots of journals. I've only skimmed them but we think we have a good idea of what happened." Harry explained. "It seems that he was in love with Pansy since school but she never gave him a second look as she was with Draco."

"So they got together after school?" Draco asked, wondering how he never knew about Theo's feeling's for Pansy.

"No." Harry shook his head. "He tried but she wasn't interested, instead they were just friends. They seemed to be pretty close until Pansy left for France."

"Did he know about the money situation?" Hermione asked.

"Not at first. When Pansy first left he wrote to her a lot, when he didn't get a response he went looking for her." Harry explained what he had found in the journals. "He found her the day her mother died. He helped her with the funeral arrangements and was trying to persuade her to return home with him."

"If Theo was trying to convince Pansy to come home, how did she end up in Ireland?" Draco asked.

"I'm not sure. From what we can gather she just left one day and Nott had no idea where she had gone." Harry said.

"I thought you said he was paying for Pansy's hospital treatment?" Hermione said.

"He was." Ron said, joining in the explanation. "When she tried to kill herself, the hospital in Dublin found Nott's name and address on her. They contacted him and he had her moved."

"So he was doing all this because he loved her and couldn't cope with seeing her so destroyed." Hermione said sadly, despite everything he had done she still felt slightly sorry for Theo.

Harry, Ron and Draco all looked sceptical of Hermione's statement, in their opinions there was no excuse for what he had done.

"I'm still not sure why he was blaming Hermione though." Ron said.

"He thought that it was my fault that Pansy's father went to prison and they lost all their money. That was the start of Pansy's problems and was what led her to try and commit suicide." Hermione said, she then explained everything that Theo had said to her as he tried to justify his actions.

After Hermione had told her story, Harry and Ron prepared to leave and return home to their wives.

"What will happen to Pansy now?" Draco asked Harry as he stood up.

"As she has no family, the Healer's in the clinic will probably turn off her life support and let her die in peace." Harry said. "I can arrange for you to see her before then." Harry offered Draco.

"Thanks, Harry. I'd like that." Draco said. While he had never had no real romantic interest in Pansy she had once been an important part of his life and a good friend when he was younger.

As Draco was contemplating the thought of seeing Pansy for one last time, Hermione was saying goodbye to her friends.

"I'm just glad this is over." Hermione said. "Thank you, both of you."

Hermione gave both Ron and Harry a hug before sending them off back to their own houses.

* * *

Monday, June 24th 10.30pm.

After Harry and Ron had left, Ryan had reappeared wanting Draco to play with him. Draco had happily played with him until his bedtime. Once they were alone Draco and Hermione talked about their relationship, but avoided all the serious questions Ryan had asked at the hospital. They eventually decided to take one day at a time and to see what happened between them, but they did decide that Draco should spend another night at Hermione's.

"You know, Theo mentioned something else this afternoon. Something about you." Hermione said as Draco got into bed next to her. She had been wondering whether to ask Draco about what Theo had said, eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to ask.

"What about me?" Draco asked.

"He said that that the first time you and Pansy were together, you said the wrong name." Hermione said tentatively, watching Draco closely for his reaction.

Draco blushed deeply and Hermione wondered if she had embarrassed him too much. "I can't believe she told him." He muttered under his breath.

"So, it's true."

"Yes, it's true." Draco admitted. "And it's not something I'm very proud of. I didn't mean for it to happen and I felt terrible for Pansy."

"When was this?" Hermione asked, wondering if she was asking for too much information.

"Fifth year."

"You liked me for that long." Hermione exclaimed with surprise.

"Longer." Draco chuckled. "From the Yule Ball in fourth year all the way through fifth I had a slight crush on you."

"Why did it stop?" Hermione asked, wondering why his attraction to her only lasted a year and a half.

"After fifth year my life became far too complicated to worry about girls." Draco said. "And after the war we hardly ever saw each other, but I don't think the attraction ever really went away."

"Really?" Hermione questioned, sceptically.

"Really, it came back full force last week when we were re-introduced." Draco said. He pulled Hermione over to his side of the bed and manoeuvred them so he was lying on top of her.

"Can you remember that first day when we were in your office talking about what was going to happen." Draco asked, kissing Hermione softly on the collar bone. Hermione nodded, eager to hear what else he had to say. "The entire time I was imagining what you would look like writhing in ecstasy underneath me."

Hermione blushed and looked up at Draco coyly. "I hope I didn't disappoint you."

"My imagination's got nothing on you." Draco said, running his hands down Hermione's body. "You're so much sexier than any fantasy I imagined."

Hermione smiled and pulled Draco's head down to hers for a soft kiss, with her split lip she couldn't put any force behind the kiss much to her disappointment. As Draco started to kiss his way slowly and sensually down her body, removing her clothing as he encountered it, Hermione reflected on the past week. On one hand it had been one of the worst of her life with the brutal murders taking place, but on the other hand she had found Draco and for the first time in her life she was falling in love.


	28. Epliogue

**A/N - I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support of this story. Enjoy the Epilogue.**

* * *

Six Months Later.

Tuesday, December 31st 9.15am.

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked, pacing the stone floor.

"Yes." Hermione replied from her place at the table. "It's time to put the past behind me and move on."

"I thought you had already done that." Harry said, taking his seat next to Hermione. "What will this achieve?"

"I need to look him in the eye, Harry. I need to show him that I survived, I'm stronger than him." Hermione explained. "I never got a chance before because he never stood trial."

Hermione and Harry were currently sitting in a small room in Azkaban waiting for the guards to bring in Theo Nott. Six months ago Theo had been sentenced to life imprisonment, but hadn't stood trial as the healers said he wasn't stable enough to understand the process.

"But why today?" Harry asked, bemused by Hermione's timing. "Ginny will kill me if you're late."

"I want to see him this morning as it's my last chance. This afternoon my new life is about to begin and I want to deal with my past before then." Hermione tried to explain her need to see Theo to Harry, not sure she was doing a good job. "And I'm sure Gin won't kill you, you're just being dramatic."

"I'm not so sure. Her hormones are making her crazy." Harry said, being totally serious about his wife.

"A word of advice, Harry. It's best not to call your pregnant wife, crazy." Hermione said to her friend.

Before Harry could respond the door opened and two guards entered with Theo in between them. The guards forced Theo into the chair opposite Hermione and Harry and placed magical shackles on him.

"Is there a reason you've come to see me?" Theo asked, looking Hermione directly in the eye. Not for the first time Harry wondered what the healers were talking about when they declared Theo unfit to stand trial, he seemed perfectly sane to him.

"Yes. I've come to put some ghosts to rest." Hermione said.

Hermione was actually using Theo to put a lot of past memories to rest, not just the ones involving him. After the war she had never gotten the chance to look Bellatrix in the eye and confront her for what she did as the witch was killed in battle. But she did have that opportunity with Theo and she planned on putting everything that had happened to her behind her and move on with her life.

"Let's guess, you've come to tell me that you've won. You survived." Theo sneered at Hermione.

"Exactly." Hermione nodded, looking the man who had tormented her in the eye. "I'm moving on with my life and you're stuck rotting in here. Once I leave this room, I'm never going to think of you again. You're nothing to me, not even a bad dream."

After saying what she wanted Hermione stood up and walked straight out of the room, never looking back to the surprised man sitting at the table. Harry smiled at his friends actions and followed Hermione out of the room, after gesturing to the guards to return Theo to his cell.

"That was great." Harry said as the two of them stood in the courtyard of the prison.

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione smiled at her friend. "We should be off, I've got a busy day."

* * *

Tuesday, December 31st 1.30pm.

Hermione stood in front of the full length mirror staring at her reflection. She could hardly believe the elegant woman in the long white gown was her, she looked so grown up. Last time she had done this she had wanted to run away from the entire wedding but today she was eager for the ceremony to begin.

"You look gorgeous, Hermione." A voice from the door said.

Turning round Hermione spotted Ron standing awkwardly in the doorway, hopping from foot to foot nervously.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled at her long term friend.

"It's funny. You look so much more relaxed than you did on our wedding day." Ron said, entering the room and shutting the door behind him. "I suppose it helps that this time you actually want to get married, even if it is to Malfoy."

"Ron." Hermione warned, she didn't want anyone or anything to ruin her wedding day.

"Sorry, can't help myself." Ron grinned. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you. I know I wasn't too thrilled at first but even an idiot like me can see how happy he makes you."

"Stop it, you're going to make me cry and Ginny will kill me if I smudge my make-up." Hermione said.

"Wouldn't want to anger the beast." Ron said laughing.

"Ron that's a terrible thing to call your sister." Hermione said, even though she was laughing along with her friend.

"Terrible, but true." Ron said. "Can I ask you something without you getting mad?" He said, suddenly turning serious again.

"You can ask, and I'll try not to get mad." Hermione said, wondering what her ex had to ask her.

"Are you sure you're not getting married too fast? You've only been together six months." Ron said trying not to anger Hermione with his question, he was only asking out of concern. "And you both have failed marriages already."

"I appreciate your concern, Ron." Hermione said, she understood that Ron was just looking out for her and wasn't trying to cause trouble. "But Draco and I have discussed our previous marriages and what went wrong with them. We know what we're doing."

"Good." Ron said, smiling at Hermione.

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked, as the door opened and Ron's younger sister entered the room.

"Just talking with Hermione." Ron said. "But I'll be going now."

Ron gave Hermione a hug and a peck on the cheek before he left the room, leaving the bride with his sister.

"He wasn't causing problems was he?" Ginny asked once Ron had left the room.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "Is everything ready? Ryan's not playing up or anything is he?"

"Stop worrying." Ginny laughed at her friends panic. "Everything's perfect, Narcissa and mum made sure of that and Ryan is fine with Draco."

Hermione nodded, she knew that Ryan would be behaving perfectly as always. She also knew he was just as excited about this wedding as her and Draco. Hermione also knew that everything would be perfect and running smoothly as Narcissa and Molly had spent the last month planning the wedding which was taking place in an expensive wizarding hotel on the south coast.

"Are you ready?" Ginny asked, checking her watch. "It's time."

Hermione smiled and together with Ginny she left the room she had been getting ready in and headed to the garden where the wedding ceremony was being held.

* * *

Tuesday, December 31st 3.00pm.

Hermione stood looking around the vast ballroom, a large smile on her face. She had only been Mrs Malfoy for half an hour but already she was loving it.

"What are you smiling about?" Draco asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I'm just happy." Hermione said, leaning back in Draco's embrace.

"Good, so am I." Draco said.

The two of them stood watching their friends and family celebrate their wedding. The entire Weasley family was in attendance and Hermione was thrilled that they had taken to both Draco and Narcissa and considered them both family. Hermione was quite surprised that Molly and Narcissa had struck up quite a good friendship, the pair of them had worked flawlessly together to organise the wedding.

Hermione let her eyes wander around the room, taking in everyone she considered special in her and Draco's lives. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Wanda were sitting at a table laughing and seemingly having fun. Draco's best friend, Blaise was dancing with his wife Daphne. The other members of Draco's security squad were also present as were Terry and Cho.

As she watched the room, Hermione's eyes fell on Ryan. He was sitting on Narcissa's knee currently talking away rapidly to his newest grandparent. Narcissa had immediately treated Ryan like her own family and Hermione had no worries that she would treat him any differently than any other children her and Draco would have in the future. Spotting Hermione watching him, Ryan got off Narcissa's knee and ran over to his mother and stepfather.

"Hi, Ry. Are you having fun?" Draco asked, picking his stepson up.

"Yes, can we have cake soon?" Ryan asked, wrapping his small hands around Draco's neck.

"Yes, we'll have cake soon and then you'll have to get ready to go to your dads." Hermione said. Ryan was staying with Ron and Wanda for two weeks while Hermione and Draco were on their honeymoon.

"Can't I come on holiday with you? I heard Nana Cissa say you're going to the beach." Ryan said.

"This holiday's just for me and your mum, you'll have lots of fun with your dad though." Draco said to Ryan.

"I know, but I'll miss you." Ryan said. He was looking forward to spending time with his father but wasn't looking forward to not seeing his mother and Draco for so long.

"How about when me and your mum come back we find somewhere all three of us can go on holiday." Draco suggested, trying to perk Ryan up.

"Disneyland." Ryan cried, loudly.

"What's Disneyland?" Draco asked.

"It's a muggle place. It's based on the cartoon films that Ryan likes to watch, there's rides and shows and you can meet the characters." Hermione tried to explain the best she could to Draco.

"Oh, you mean films like The Lion King." Draco said, deliberately picking Ryan's favourite film to mention.

"Yeah, we can go and see Simba." Ryan bounced up and down excitedly in Draco's arms.

"We haven't said we're going yet Ryan." Hermione said, not wanting her son to be too upset if they didn't get to go.

"Aw, can we go Draco? Please." Ryan turned and pouted at Draco.

Draco laughed at how cute Ryan looked. "Of course we can." He told his stepson.

"Yeah." Ryan cheered. "Can I go and tell Dad?" He asked Hermione.

"Yes, go on." Hermione said as Draco put Ryan back down onto the floor. Hermione and Draco watched as Ryan sped across the floor to tell his father about his upcoming holiday.

"Do you have any idea what you've let yourself in for?" Hermione turned to her husband. "The place will be packed with muggles."

"Well, it's a good job I love Ryan enough to put up with muggles. As long as he's happy and is having fun, it's fine with me." Draco said, pulling Hermione into his arms.

Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, playing with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Hermione was thrilled that Draco loved Ryan like his own but that he didn't ever try to take Ron's place in the little boy's life. Despite Ron and Draco not always getting along neither bad mouthed the other to Ryan. Draco knew that Ron was Ryan's father and accepted it while Ron never made any trouble when it became clear that Ryan loved Draco like a second father.

"I love you." Hermione said, looking into her husband's deep grey eyes.

"I love you, too." Draco said, kissing Hermione softly.

"So you don't regret marrying me, even though it was so fast." Hermione asked when they broke the kiss.

"No." Draco said, with a small smile. "I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you the day you were missing. Them few hours apart were more than enough to make me realise I love you more than anything."

Hermione smiled and kissed her husband again. She had also known that morning that she wanted to be with Draco forever, it was the thought of never seeing him and Ryan again that had terrified her the most that awful day.

Luckily everything had worked out and Hermione was now living the life she had always wanted. She had a husband she was madly in love with, a son she adored with hopefully more children to follow.

"Come on, let's dance." Draco said, leading Hermione onto the dance floor.

Settled in Draco's arms, Hermione couldn't help but think of the irony of Theo Nott's actions. Six months ago he had set out to destroy her and her life but all he had done was bring her and Draco together, making her life so much better.

**The End.**


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